My doctor wants me to undergo an MRI of my brain before starting my Avastin® (bevacizumab). Is he worried about cancer spreading to my brain?
He may not be worried about the spread to your brain, but wants to definitively rule it out to avoid the potential risk of bleeding in the brain while undergoing treatment with bevacizumab in case such a spread does exist. In the early testing of bevacizumab, there were rare reports of such bleeding in patients whose cancer had spread to the brain, necessitating a cautious approach.
He or she may not be worried about the spread to your brain, but wants to definitively rule it out to avoid the potential risk of bleeding in the brain while undergoing treatment with bevacizumab in case such a spread does exist. In the early testing of bevacizumab, there were rare reports of such bleeding in patients whose cancer had spread to the brain, necessitating a cautious approach.
