CT Scan

Kaye2003
Kaye2003 Member Posts: 86
edited March 2014 in Colorectal Cancer #1
I forgot to ask you guys a guestion the last time I posted.
The first time my husband had a ct scan (nov. 03) all we did was go to the hospital and they did the scan and then we came home.
Monday when they did a ct scan he had to drink two bottles of scan prep (white chalky stuff) and they also ran some kind of dye thru his iv.
Why would the two scans be different?
Hope someone can answer.
God bless you guys.
Wish us luck and prayers for his ultrasound tomorrow. He's really not happy about having to do the prep a second time this week.

Comments

  • shmurciakova
    shmurciakova Member Posts: 906 Member
    #2
    The first time they did the scan it sounds like they did not use a barium "contrast". Scans be done in this manner, but are not as accurate as they are when you drink the barium and then get an iodine injection. So the scan he had on Monday should be more accurate.
    I don't know his story, but best of luck, Susan
  • scouty
    scouty Member Posts: 1,965 Member
    #3
    Susan is right. You are now using a much smarter scanner making the readers more effective and efficient. My radiologist said the setup to do the kind you got (machines and everything) cost over a million dollars. Well worth the 30 minutes of drinking funky tasting stuff. It's a little like a colonoscopy...the prep is so much worse then the tests itself.

    Lisa P.
  • taraHK
    taraHK Member Posts: 1,952 Member
    #4
    As others have said, CT scans can be done with or without contrast. For me, I have always had contrast, but sometimes they do both and compare. Drinking the stuff is a bit yucky, as is the IV contrast (can give you a 'flush'), but not too bad. Good luck and best wishes,
    Tara
  • tkd3g
    tkd3g Member Posts: 767
    #5
    Hi Kaye. I asked my husband about this one. He is the Administrative Director of Radiology for a large hospital here on L.I.

    He was surprised your dad would get a CT without any contrast. That is not usually done when looking at a cancer patient.

    The contrast he drinks is used to fill up the intestinal tract. If it is empty, it can look like there are findings on the scan.

    The IV is used much like a PET scan. The dye allows any tumors to effectively "light up" on the scan.

    This type of CT is the standard. Nothing out of the ordinary. I did the same thing for my first scans. The drink is lovely, isn't it? :)

    Hang tough.

    God bless.

    Barb
  • alihamilton
    alihamilton Member Posts: 347 Member
    #6
    My husband does not get the contrast when having a scan as he is allergic to shellfish. However the scan showed up some lesions which, with a PET scan proved to be benign. I think it depends how sensitive the scanner is.

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