Still a little confused about Pet Scans.......

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  • Monicalynn
    Monicalynn Member Posts: 61
    I haven't had one, I am
    I haven't had one, I am stage I with no lymph node invovlement, when I asked about a fully body scan he said since it wasn't in the lymph nodes then it isn't needed
  • NancyJac
    NancyJac Member Posts: 91
    You should most definitely
    You should most definitely ask you MO because there are lots of valid reasons to not do one, but only you MO would know what they are. It could cancer type, grade, stage, lots of other reasons, but never because they don't do it.
  • NancyJac
    NancyJac Member Posts: 91
    Angie2U said:

    I've never had a PET scan.
    I've never had a PET scan. I have a mammo, ultrasound and a MRI every year. I think the PET scan is only used if they know you have cancer again, or, if you are on chemo and they are trying to see if the chemo is working, shrinking the tumor or tumors.

    I did have a bone scan when I was having some back pain, and, it turned out ok!

    I hope this helps to ease your mind.


    Hugs, Angie

    That is partially true. The
    That is partially true. The primary use of a PET scan for cancer is to determine if an already diagnosed primary cancer has metastisized. So if you are currently NED, there is no benefit to having a PET. It also cannot determine if chemo is working, A PET only identifies areas of high metabolic activity (i.e. high glucose uptake). It cannot measure the size of tumors (that is what a CT does). And even if an area "lights up" on a PET, there is no way to know if it is cancer. Any type of infection or inflamation will cause a hot spot. When I had a PET, I had several hot spots including one on my lung, in my nose, and around my thyroid. The lung and nose was do to a slight cold at the time and they thyroid is because I have auto-immune thyroiditis and my medication for that is what generates the metabolic activity in that area. So having a PET without a specific reason to have one (e.g. looking for mets for an currently active primary cancer) is just of no medical use.
  • camul
    camul Member Posts: 2,537
    NancyJac said:

    You should most definitely
    You should most definitely ask you MO because there are lots of valid reasons to not do one, but only you MO would know what they are. It could cancer type, grade, stage, lots of other reasons, but never because they don't do it.

    I have had a lot of PET
    I have had a lot of PET Scans. I had one when I was initially diagnosed in 2002, then 1 a year for the first 3 years, had one following a bone scan at about 5 years, then had 2 or 3 in 2009. Had one in 2010, which found the mets. Have had 4 since then to see if the chemo was working.

    Mine have shown false negatives, but the RO said that any exercise, even just bumping into something could show up as positive. The contrast will light up on recent scars, operations, or infections also. I prefer a bone scan, CT, or MRI. For my peace of mind, these have been more accurate. My MO says that the best indicator of whether the chemo is working is by how I feel! But he does do the scans! He doesn't do tumor markers though.

    I trust that he knows what he is doing!
  • Angie2U
    Angie2U Member Posts: 2,991
    camul said:

    I have had a lot of PET
    I have had a lot of PET Scans. I had one when I was initially diagnosed in 2002, then 1 a year for the first 3 years, had one following a bone scan at about 5 years, then had 2 or 3 in 2009. Had one in 2010, which found the mets. Have had 4 since then to see if the chemo was working.

    Mine have shown false negatives, but the RO said that any exercise, even just bumping into something could show up as positive. The contrast will light up on recent scars, operations, or infections also. I prefer a bone scan, CT, or MRI. For my peace of mind, these have been more accurate. My MO says that the best indicator of whether the chemo is working is by how I feel! But he does do the scans! He doesn't do tumor markers though.

    I trust that he knows what he is doing!

    My onco doesn't do tumor
    My onco doesn't do tumor markers either and it seems most don't. Does anyone know why some onco's do them? Do they feel they are reliable?

    Thanks,

    Angie
  • hebadekei
    hebadekei Member Posts: 2
    If you don't have PET scan,
    If you don't have PET scan, maybe you don't need it, or your doctors don't want you do such scan to protect you from worries. - Strep Throat SymptomsI don't think you have other choices besides trust your doctors. You still need to corporate with your doctors, that's the only choice you can do. - pain in lower right abdomen
  • NancyJac
    NancyJac Member Posts: 91
    Angie2U said:

    My onco doesn't do tumor
    My onco doesn't do tumor markers either and it seems most don't. Does anyone know why some onco's do them? Do they feel they are reliable?

    Thanks,

    Angie

    Hi Angie,
    According to my onc, test for tumor markers, like PET can have a lot of false positives because things other than cancer can affect those markers. Just about any excess or deficiency or toxic/foreign matter in the blood stream can affect the results. Other things such as smoking, taking certain meds, etc. can affect it too. My onc does both PET and tumor marker testing when she feels it is useful, but never uses either in isolation to make a decision or recommendation for treatment. She treats them more as potential indicators or comparative trends rather than definitive diagnostic tools.
  • MAJW
    MAJW Member Posts: 2,510 Member
    hebadekei said:

    If you don't have PET scan,
    If you don't have PET scan, maybe you don't need it, or your doctors don't want you do such scan to protect you from worries. - Strep Throat SymptomsI don't think you have other choices besides trust your doctors. You still need to corporate with your doctors, that's the only choice you can do. - pain in lower right abdomen

    Tumor Markers...
    Mine have always been correct...They do them every 3-4 months....in Feb. mine was 98....way up! Scans were ordered and they showed the 3 small spots on my brain and a small spot on my liver....I was totally asymptomatic, nothing to indicate a problem...i actually was feeling good, so it was a real shock!! So without the tumor markers, we would have had no clue about these two things and they more than likely they would have progressed...I had 10 brain rads and since chemo with Avastin+Carboplatin....my tumor markers were done 3 1/2 weeks ago....they are now 34.!!!!..and my cancer center lab runs the numbers twice to make sure they get the same numbers....So, for me I am thankful my oncologist does them...yes they can give false positives and false negatives..nothing's 100% perfect..but in my case they have always been right...
  • DianeBC
    DianeBC Member Posts: 3,881 Member
    NancyJac said:

    You should most definitely
    You should most definitely ask you MO because there are lots of valid reasons to not do one, but only you MO would know what they are. It could cancer type, grade, stage, lots of other reasons, but never because they don't do it.

    I think NancyJac is right,
    I think NancyJac is right, please talk to your onco about whether you need one or not and the reasoning behind it. I've also never had one.

    Post to update us,

    Diane