My question is why do you need to wear a mask in the MRI machine? There’s no transfer of germs there.

I always believed a PET scan was the best detection of cancer but insurance companies just won't pay for them which in my opinion is obscene. So, they rather pay for 3 tests ( mammogram, CT, MRI) than for 1 test that is accurate.

Why is a PET/CT Scan Better Than a CT Scan?
PET Scan
A PET/CT scan, meanwhile, does show if tissue is cancerous or not, and how active it is. This means you won’t receive a false negative. Plus, you will avoid continuing treatment if it's not actually needed. We’ve had clients who’d been told that they were cancer-free, based on a CT scan. But when they got a PET/CT scan, it showed a cancerous tumour that would have otherwise gone untreated.

Simply put, you cannot rely on a CT scan. See our PET/CT vs CT Comparison to learn more about how and why CT scans can fail cancer patients.

If PET/CT is Better, Why are Patients Still Getting CT Scans?
If we know that PET/CT scan is a superior diagnostic tool, why are doctors still prescribing CT scans to patients (usually after they’ve had an ultrasound)?

CT scans are cheaper than PET/CT scans
CT scans are cheaper than MRIs
They provide more detail than an ultrasound

https://www.ctoam.com/precision-oncology/why-we...

Problems with CT Scans for Cancer Diagnosis

https://www.ctoam.com/precision-oncology/why-we-exist/standard-treatment/diagnostics/ct-scan/

Its awful @A MyBCTeam Member when we first get diagnosed, they want a diagnostic mammogram, then breast ultrasound, CT and breast MRI. After each one my surgeon saying they wanted clearer images. And they all missed sternum Mets because the focus of all the scan was left breast. It wouldn't have made my outcome different since the sternal metastases was going on there for a year before diagnosis but for some women it might make a huge difference. All the radiation from all those scans within a month of each other. Ridiculous. So only after sternal mets was found they do a PET scan to look for further spread and sure enough it was found on my hip. No telling how long it was there, my guess is during all the wait time from diagnoses to surgery it spread there. They give PET for diagnostic purposes only and not just to 'check'. So insurance companies rather pay for 4 test than just 1 and then put out the money to treat the cancer. None of it makes sense.

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A MyBCTea...

I know Tracy, none of this makes any sense to me. 2 months to get all these tests done. Meanwhile the cancerous tumor stays in our breasts and then like in my case they discover it had already Mets so 2 months of breast only imaging for nothing.

I totally agree. I can't count how many tests I had before my pet scan. Bless you both.