TIMEFRAME FOR CT SCANS

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Mali11
Mali11 Member Posts: 1
in Lung Cancer #1
How often should CT Scans be scheduled when going through chemo treatments?

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  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks CSN Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    #2
    scans
    Your docs will determine the frequency, of course, but as a rule, you can expect to have the scans every three months for the first year or two, afterwhich they typically spread them out to every six months (if all is going well), until, after five years or so, they shut it down completely.

    I wish you the best.

    Take care,

    Joe
  • NayPaul
    NayPaul CSN Member Posts: 230 Member
    #3
    soccerfreaks said:

    scans
    Your docs will determine the frequency, of course, but as a rule, you can expect to have the scans every three months for the first year or two, afterwhich they typically spread them out to every six months (if all is going well), until, after five years or so, they shut it down completely.

    I wish you the best.

    Take care,

    Joe

    yep... thats right
    About the only dfference I have seen iis if you are on an investigational drug, then seems like it is usually every 6 weeks.
  • DianaJ
    DianaJ Member Posts: 15
    #4
    During chemo I had CT scans
    During chemo I had CT scans after 2 infusions to see response to treatment. I had 4 cycles/infusions of carbo/taxol every 3 weeks.
  • littlelady4220
    littlelady4220 Member Posts: 15
    #5
    My husband finished chemo
    My husband finished chemo (SCLC Extensive) in June, had a PET scan at that time. The doctor doesn't want him to have another scan until the end of December. I don't think it's normal, what does anyone else think? With SCLC so aggressivem would you push for a scan every three months?
  • soccerfreaks
    soccerfreaks CSN Member Posts: 2,788 Member
    #6
    littlelady4220 said:

    My husband finished chemo
    My husband finished chemo (SCLC Extensive) in June, had a PET scan at that time. The doctor doesn't want him to have another scan until the end of December. I don't think it's normal, what does anyone else think? With SCLC so aggressivem would you push for a scan every three months?

    Normal
    Hang out for awhile and you will hear this again and again: no two survivors are alike; we handle chemotherapy differently, we are given different treatments for what seems like the exact same cancer...it is the nature of the beast.

    Doctors, I think, are becoming more reserved about providing scans with the understanding that the scans themselves provide radiation to the body in much greater dosages than, say, xrays and that, over time, potentially, the accumulation of radiation may be a source of cancer itself. So, if you trust your doctor (more to the point: if your HUSBAND trusts HIS doctor) then I would advise you stick with him/her and go with the plan. Only a general mistrust of my doctor would prompt me to go elsewhere and I would never leave simply because I disagreed with the person I hired for very good reasons to care for me!

    I wish your husband and his family the best.

    Take care,

    Joe

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