p.e.p scan not always right

rarph123
rarph123 Member Posts: 64
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Just a short story of what great thing that can happen to you when you have faith.I did not have much faith a few weeks ago when the E.N.T said "Your P.E.P scan showed a hot spot"
What do you say, when the doc. say's "You need a M.R.I this week and I have a surgon from Loma Linda who is going to take your case" Ya know I just went through hell with stage 4 of nodes and B.O.T plus the right lung----think my mind was a little frozen at that point!
Had the M.R.I and met the tongue guy to day ( he's the guy who was, (I thought was going to cut part of my tongue off or burn the beast with a laser gun.Hey I'm ready for it and its hard to keep a smile when you know its time to fight the beast again, do I fear the beast--you bet cha.Any way the tongue doc. sends the flashlight down the tube--look around for a while and left the room for a bit--some back in and say's "P.E P scan not right, Your M.R.I shows No cancer and the scope was clean.A hot spot on a P.E.P scan does not always mean cancer.And what do you think of that longtime surviver and thank all on this board for caring.

Comments

  • longtermsurvivor
    longtermsurvivor Member Posts: 1,842 Member
    #2
    I'll tell you what I think of that....
    I am absolutely thrilled for you. Thanks for the update.

    Pat
  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #3
    OMG....this is simiply WONDERFUL!!!
    I am SO happy for you!! What a frigging relief, huh? Get your dancing shoes on, sir....I'm about to dance you around and around the kitchen.

    p
  • blackswampboy
    blackswampboy Member Posts: 341
    #4
    a lot of us get hot spots
    amen. my PET scan showed a hot spot too. two oncs told me it was most likely still the radiation cooking. that was a full three months after treatments ended. personally, I wish they'd waited another month, but I'm not the medical pro.
    mostly what I got out of the PET scan was that there was no sign of metastasizing to other parts of my bod. hallelujah for that.
  • cureitall66
    cureitall66 Member Posts: 913
    #5
    Great news....
    Wish I could see you and Phrannie dancing around the table... :)
  • katenorwood
    katenorwood Member Posts: 1,912
    #6
    Awesome news !
    Hello !
    Fantastic news ! Yes we should always follow up with specific testing after PET lites up. It can show infection, arthritis...(ect.) I am so sorry they put you through this ! But now have a kickin holiday season ! Katie
  • VivianLee5689
    VivianLee5689 Member Posts: 546
    #7
    katenorwood said:

    Awesome news !
    Hello !
    Fantastic news ! Yes we should always follow up with specific testing after PET lites up. It can show infection, arthritis...(ect.) I am so sorry they put you through this ! But now have a kickin holiday season ! Katie

    so cool
    That is some very cool update. I am so happy to hear good news.
  • luvofmylif
    luvofmylif Member Posts: 344
    #8
    VivianLee5689 said:

    so cool
    That is some very cool update. I am so happy to hear good news.

    Glad also to hear good news.
    Glad also to hear good news. I know you feel so great now. Enjoy today , tomorrow, and all the rest of your days basking in the sunlight of a clear MRI
  • Greend
    Greend Member Posts: 678
    #9
    Same
    I too showed a big hotspot in my lungs which turned out to be scar tissue.
  • luv4lacrosse
    luv4lacrosse Member Posts: 1,410 Member
    #10
    WHAT GREAT NEWS
    Just goes to show everyone is an induvidual and not a statistic. I am battling the beast for a second time right now, and really need to hear all of the success stories out there.

    Best

    Mike
  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #11
    PET Scan was Right...
    Actually the PET scan was right....

    It showed a HOT spot....

    What many of us forget, is that a hot spot doesn't mean cancer. It just means there was high cellular activity in that specific area.

    Hot spots can be caused by many things, radiation resdiual, infections (I believe), and oh yes...cancer.

    My ENT always reminds me that these machines and such are just tools. Tools to give him a better idea of areas to concentrate on. But ultimately, he is the expert.

    Awesome news that yours turned out to be not cancer...

    Best,
    John
  • ditto1
    ditto1 Member Posts: 660
    #12
    Great News
    These hotspots are like "Stay Tuned for the next episode" you wanted one episode with no hotspots causing the need to wait for part two. Lousy analogy but so many have had the hotspot axiety and most of the time it was nothing as in your case. So God bless you and enjoy you recovery and NED.
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #13
    Wonderful!
    Man, I'm sure the celebration at your house is rocking! Good.
  • Tim6003
    Tim6003 Member Posts: 1,514 Member
    #14
    Pam M said:

    Wonderful!
    Man, I'm sure the celebration at your house is rocking! Good.

    Man on man that's great news ..
    That's what we like to hear ....bless your heart for having to go through what you did (waiting) ...

    I am happy for you!!

    Best,

    Tim
  • fisrpotpe
    fisrpotpe Member Posts: 1,349 Member
    #15
    right
    all pet scans are right!

    problem is they are not detailed enough to give the most precise information as to what is shown. for example for me.... mine said it could be cancer or scar tissue. to the scan was right and showed something, they just did not have enough information to determine what it was.

    for me i want it to show something if there is something there, that way it can be watched or other options can be used.

    john
  • hrowe
    hrowe Member Posts: 57
    #16
    PET
    My first PET was 3 mo out from tx and showed some uptake values in the lung area but my throat tumor and lymph nodes had resolved. My rad and med oncs were 95% sure it was inflammation. A CT a few months later showed no activity in the lungs. They were right!

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