Can body scans at airports detect cancer

[Booker258]

My husband has been complaining with this pain slightly to left of shoulder blade. The other day at airport going thru security & he entered for the full body scan. This is the third time this has happened but the area where he has his pain, shoulder blade, it shows up on the scan as a yellow square!! Could the body scan for security actually detect cancer or inflamed muscle?? What would cause this to show up exactly where he is having pain??

[Ang2317]

This exact thing happened to me when my mother died.  I am EP with American Airlines.  I fly often.  First t one this has ever happened.  I was under so much stress and grief that my left arm and clavicle were throbbing.  The spot of the most intense pain was my clavicle right above my heart.  When I went through the scanner it detected an object at the exact location of my pain.  

[Joe_Traveler]

Yesterday, while visiting San Fransisco, I was walking down the sidewalk and was gazing at an incredibly beautiful Victorian house across the street.  I was not paying attention to what was in front of me and crashed into a foot and a half tall concrete planting box that jutted out into the sidewalk from next to the front door of a shop.  My forward thrust hurled me over the planter and I landed on my lower left rib cage on the concrete sidewalk.  I weigh about 200 pounds.  Horrible pain to my lower left ribs, but no visible bruise developed.  Fast forward to today, when I went into one of those body scanners (feet apart and arms up over the head) at San Fransisco International Airport.  The TSA woman asked me to step out of the scanning booth and wait for a security man to come and give me a pat down.  He came up to me and poked me with his finger into my lower left rib cage and said to me Does that hurt?   I lied and said No.  He then asked me to turn around and he patted down my back and gave me a clean bill of health, so to speak.  Conclusion:  airport body scanners can detect pain/inflammation/increased localized blood flow -- I am not sure which, but it definitely identified my aching ribs.  Do not believe all of the voices of disinformation on the web who suggest otherwise!

[harvestdrmr]

I have severe arthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis.  The last time I went through the airport scanner, I had four yellow squares show up.  Left shoulder and elbow joint, right elbow joint, and right wrist.  All of these joints are extremely painful, inflamed and present with deformity.  The yellow box on my left shoulder has been showing up on me for at least three years, but now this year I have FOUR BOXES!  I wonder what the scanner is picking up.  Please advise.

[metaphor69]

I was wearing a support stocking on my left leg, which shifted and was tight around the top of my knee going through the scanner, which showed up as a yellow square, so I believe that the yellow sq, indicated to me as a lack of blood was in that area,

[JD1963]

Hello and Welcome to MedHelp! I am the new Orthopedic Community Leader and I am still trying to get up to speed. The "yellow square(s)" started 3 years ago with the "new" body scanners. That square will indicate any anomalie (bump/object) it deems unusual for the human body. My opinion is if it is a great concern for you, that you consult a physician for a routine Scapula x-ray.

Best wishes!  JD1963

[Dr. Kokil Mathur]

Hi!
No, full body scanners at airport cannot detect cancer or inflammation. A yellow patch on full body scanner means that the thing is not a part of the body. The scanner can detect any prosthesis, stent, implants, and other things like colostomy bags, and other metallic or non-metallic things etc. Maybe he had some operation in childhood or there is some implant that is coming up as a yellow square.
If your husband has some problem in the shoulder area, then an X-ray and a MRI of the shoulder joint is advisable. Hope this helps. Take care!

The medical advice given should not be considered a substitute for medical care provided by a doctor who can examine you. The advice may not be completely correct for you as the doctor cannot examine you and does not know your complete medical history. Hence this reply to your post should only be considered as a guiding line and you must consult your doctor at the earliest for your medical problem.

[Betha1963]

Yes, the scanners do detect inflammation. TSA agent asked me if I had inflamed arthritis because  all 3 areas lit up the yellow boxes in the machine, causing a pat down. Yes, I was very inflamed at the time, right hip, left knee and shoulder.