Pet Scan?

Tracie1981
Tracie1981 Member Posts: 125
edited March 2014 in Lymphoma (Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin) #1
Ok, so on Tuesday I have my first PET scan scheduled. How different is getting a PET scan done compared to getting a regular CT scan? I'm kind of scared because the last time I had a CT scan done after starting chemo the dye burnt really really bad going into my veins. Which I think is a result of the chemo because it never bothered me before. Thank you and God Bless!!

Comments

  • brigit
    brigit Member Posts: 7
    #2
    with the PET scan you get
    with the PET scan you get injected with a radioactive dye and then need to drink a Barium mixture over an hour time frame. The injection of the dye didn't burn for me. You can't eat for 8 hours prior to the scan. After the scan you will need to drink tons of fluids to flush out the radioactive dye and they recommend that you stay away from babies and pregnant women. good luck with your scan
  • JoanieP
    JoanieP Member Posts: 573
    #3
    lie still
    I think the hardest part besides the mental thing is you need to lie very still. I have certain Bible verses I say over and over. Keep your eyes closed. I pray for good results for you
  • yesyes2
    yesyes2 Member Posts: 591
    #4
    Pet Scan
    Hi Tracie,

    I have probably done at least 6 PET/CT scans and much prefer them to CT scans. You do have to lie very still for around 1 hour during the scan. I've never had to drink anything prior to the PET scan. For mine I get the radioactive sugar injection and have to stay in a darkened room for around 30 min. before the scan. You have to stay very till and they won't even allow you to read a magazine. Good time to take a little nap. Can you have the injection in the arm you don't use for chemo? Oh, before the injection the tech checks your sugar level to be sure it is in acceptable range. And I've been told to avoid sugars and carbs and to eat only protein for dinner the night before.

    I hope this is of help to you. And I pray that your scan is clear. With the best of wishes for you on Tueday. Let us know how it goes.
    Leslie
  • Tracie1981
    Tracie1981 Member Posts: 125
    #5
    yesyes2 said:

    Pet Scan
    Hi Tracie,

    I have probably done at least 6 PET/CT scans and much prefer them to CT scans. You do have to lie very still for around 1 hour during the scan. I've never had to drink anything prior to the PET scan. For mine I get the radioactive sugar injection and have to stay in a darkened room for around 30 min. before the scan. You have to stay very till and they won't even allow you to read a magazine. Good time to take a little nap. Can you have the injection in the arm you don't use for chemo? Oh, before the injection the tech checks your sugar level to be sure it is in acceptable range. And I've been told to avoid sugars and carbs and to eat only protein for dinner the night before.

    I hope this is of help to you. And I pray that your scan is clear. With the best of wishes for you on Tueday. Let us know how it goes.
    Leslie

    Thank you
    I know the scan probably wont be completely clear, it would definitely be a miracle if it was, since I'm still in the beginning of my treatments. I'm really claustrophobic so the PET scan sounds scary to me :{ Having to lay still is going to be hard especially for an hour, wow!!But I'm hoping for the best and praying that the mass has shrunk quite a bit with chemo. I know I've had a lot of chest pain so hopefully its the tumor shrinking :) I'm so glad I have you all to guide me through this, I would have never expected anything like that! Thank you sooo much! I will definitely keep everyone updated about tuesday, I'm really anxious and nervous, especially cause they said they would have to change my chemo if anything was active :( Which we dont want for sure! Thanks again and God Bless!!
  • JoanieP
    JoanieP Member Posts: 573
    #6
    Tracie1981 said:

    Thank you
    I know the scan probably wont be completely clear, it would definitely be a miracle if it was, since I'm still in the beginning of my treatments. I'm really claustrophobic so the PET scan sounds scary to me :{ Having to lay still is going to be hard especially for an hour, wow!!But I'm hoping for the best and praying that the mass has shrunk quite a bit with chemo. I know I've had a lot of chest pain so hopefully its the tumor shrinking :) I'm so glad I have you all to guide me through this, I would have never expected anything like that! Thank you sooo much! I will definitely keep everyone updated about tuesday, I'm really anxious and nervous, especially cause they said they would have to change my chemo if anything was active :( Which we dont want for sure! Thanks again and God Bless!!

    Much shorter
    Hi Tracy. I never had a PET scan that took an hour. It is under 30 minutes. Keep your eyes closed the entire time. Usually they play music for me. I get in a zone of prayer and think of my family and how much I love them. Let us know how you do.
  • Tracie1981
    Tracie1981 Member Posts: 125
    #7
    JoanieP said:

    Much shorter
    Hi Tracy. I never had a PET scan that took an hour. It is under 30 minutes. Keep your eyes closed the entire time. Usually they play music for me. I get in a zone of prayer and think of my family and how much I love them. Let us know how you do.

    Thank you
    I will let you guys know how it goes. I'm praying for the best outcome, since it is my first PET scan, I'm hoping for a miracle!!Im definitely glad to hear it wont take an hour, an hour is a long time to lay there. Thanks so much for the info!! God Bless!
  • lvraider
    lvraider Member Posts: 5
    #8
    PET SCANS MISS GASTRIC LYMPHOMAS & GIVE HIGH DOSE RADIATION!!!
    I had a PETSCAN at a large chain hospital, and it totally missed my NHL B & T cells. If I had not had an endo-scopy with multiple biopsies, I would have been totally in the dark. You also, get way too much radiation from PETSCANS & CT SCANS. No more for me! Just good old Endo-scopy with many biopsies. You have to make them take them! They will charge you more, but you want them. They also, have at UCLA a Endo-Scopic Ultra-sound which showed the extent of my disease which the PETSCAN MISSED!
  • Cindy McCrary
    Cindy McCrary Member Posts: 3
    #9
    lvraider said:

    PET SCANS MISS GASTRIC LYMPHOMAS & GIVE HIGH DOSE RADIATION!!!
    I had a PETSCAN at a large chain hospital, and it totally missed my NHL B & T cells. If I had not had an endo-scopy with multiple biopsies, I would have been totally in the dark. You also, get way too much radiation from PETSCANS & CT SCANS. No more for me! Just good old Endo-scopy with many biopsies. You have to make them take them! They will charge you more, but you want them. They also, have at UCLA a Endo-Scopic Ultra-sound which showed the extent of my disease which the PETSCAN MISSED!

    Tracie,
    My pet scans were a
    Tracie,
    My pet scans were a lot like Leslie...The long part was relaxing before the scan..I dont remember the scan being that long? my tumor was also in my chest..behind my chest wall and the scan showed everything. Everyone is different..are bodies are different and are reactions are different...follow your gut and know we are all here to support you.
    Praying for great results.....I had some pain too in the beginning...hoped it was tumor shrinking...and it was! Best of luck!
  • Tracie1981
    Tracie1981 Member Posts: 125
    #10
    Cindy McCrary said:

    Tracie,
    My pet scans were a
    Tracie,
    My pet scans were a lot like Leslie...The long part was relaxing before the scan..I dont remember the scan being that long? my tumor was also in my chest..behind my chest wall and the scan showed everything. Everyone is different..are bodies are different and are reactions are different...follow your gut and know we are all here to support you.
    Praying for great results.....I had some pain too in the beginning...hoped it was tumor shrinking...and it was! Best of luck!

    Thanks
    My PET scan went pretty much like that, the hardest part was having them place the IV I hate needles!!! The relaxing part was pretty easy and once I got into the machine that was easy too, all I could think about was food I was sooo hungry!! I had pretty ok results, the tumor has shrank and they seen minimal inflamatory cells so, I guess the chemo is doing its job, thats all that matters :) Take care and God Bless!
  • merrywinner
    merrywinner Member Posts: 626 Member
    #11
    Tracie1981 said:

    Thanks
    My PET scan went pretty much like that, the hardest part was having them place the IV I hate needles!!! The relaxing part was pretty easy and once I got into the machine that was easy too, all I could think about was food I was sooo hungry!! I had pretty ok results, the tumor has shrank and they seen minimal inflamatory cells so, I guess the chemo is doing its job, thats all that matters :) Take care and God Bless!

    Glad that's over for you
    Glad that's over for you Tracie. I think PET scans are better then CAT scans. The results sound promising and I hope all continues to go well. How many treatments do you have left?
    Mary
  • Tracie1981
    Tracie1981 Member Posts: 125
    #12
    merrywinner said:

    Glad that's over for you
    Glad that's over for you Tracie. I think PET scans are better then CAT scans. The results sound promising and I hope all continues to go well. How many treatments do you have left?
    Mary

    Hey
    I have about 6 more treatments and some radiation they are saying, it seems like everything is dragging by pretty slowly, but I'm hanging in :) Thank you and God Bless!! Tracie
  • COBRA666
    COBRA666 Member Posts: 2,401 Member
    #13
    TRACI, I had the ct and pet
    TRACI, I had the ct and pet for my lymphoma. The PET scan is a combo of ct and mri. Its the newest form of x-ray. It shows a lot more detail. It is pretty accurate. the use of the PET scan enables them to pinpoint exactly the tumors and identify them better. I do not know why you had the burning sensation though. john

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