Learn about diagnostic imaging through our helpful cancer forum resources at CancerCompass.com. Get feedback and information from other cancer patients to help research new advances. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/cancer-diagnosis/diagnostic-imaging/1,0,124,95.htm Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://backend.userland.com/rss RSS.NET: http://www.rssdotnet.com/ My name is Cory, I'm 25 years old and was diagnosed with testicular cancer about 2 and a half years ago. Cancer is also very prevelant in my family, Grandmother, Grandfather, Aunt..and so on. I had surgery and went through radiation.  I just had my yearly chest xray and the results said: 2 questionable sub centimeter nodular densities are seen projecting over the right lower lung field. I am going for a chest CT-Scan this Wednesday, May 6th.  Given my history and the fact that I used to smoke cigarettes heavily, up until my first diagnosis with cancer, how worried should I be? Because I am extremely worried... http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,71637,0.htm Coboh Mon, 06 May 2013 00:00:00 GMT Surgeon ask them how big tumor is? What exactly what they are going to do in the operating room. If you are getting a lumpectomy and surgeon is skilled enough to test the first two nodes which are called sentinel. If the first node is positive for cancer and the second is not what are your options? Lymphedema who will access it, treat it ,follow it ,diagnosis it. Draining tube left in how long? If your insurance changes or doesn't pay this doctor will he or she leave you without treating lymphedema treatment including antibotics, and occcuaptional therapists. Who guides you which doctor? Oncologist drives your train make sure you are very comfortable with them. We all have come along way in seven years I am happy to pass on this to women who come after me so they have better knowledge and tools to eventually drive their own trains... http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,70753,0.htm salina Tue, 05 Mar 2013 00:00:00 GMT Hello.  I had surgery to remove my left kidney on 10/22/12.   My doctor thought/believed it was stage 2, because of the size, location, etc..  Would a PET scan be more beneifical to see if the cancer had/has spread over a CT scan of my ABD, Chest, Pelvis, Skull? My insurance (Blue Cross) has denied the PET scan, but will approve the CT scan.  I just want the best exam to know if there is something there and don't know which is better. Is one safer than the other? Any help or advice or experience would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and God bless, George. Age: 50. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,70357,0.htm gthompsonjr Wed, 06 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT My husband was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer which spread to his brain. This is his 2nd round of radiation. It seems that his body just cannot take anymore. I was wondering if anyone has experienced this. He could sleep for days. Any info will be appreciated Linda http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,70450,0.htm Gramdof4 Tue, 12 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT Hi all, just had a PET/CT scan on my Renel Cell cancer and the reusults showed 7 cancerous nodes.The nodes are as follows: 1 is not FDG avid                                      2 are mildy FDG avid                                      2 are moderately FDG avid                                and 2 are intensely FDG avid.Can anyone explain what the different uptakes mean. Are they new and growing, are the low uptake ones dying and becoming necrotic (this was a comment on a previous CT scan.Any advice is welcome as my oncologist is new to PET/CT and wouldn't comment.cheers Tim http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,40899,0.htm Timmy_Tucker Wed, 21 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT History   24 Sept 2012 - My father got diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of mouth, clinically diagnosed T1N1M0, surgery involved marginal mandibulectomy and extraction of lower third molar tooth with 2 cm margin and 3 lymph nodes. Buccal fat pad was used for reconstruction of the retromolar triangle defect post resection. Post surgery biopsies show posterior margin positive, rest all OK, lymph nodes negative too.   Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy IMRT advised 22nd Oct 2012 - Although during marker CT scan  of IMRT they noticed "an irregularly marginated soft tissue density lesion with necrosis in right molar trigone". Hence a biopsy was performed which said - "chronic granulation tissue with mild to moderate dysplasia in overlying epithelium. Definite evidence of malignancy NOT seen in biopsy received."   29th Oct 2012 – 12th Dec 2012 IMRT  was done on face and neck region - 60 gray in 30 seatings.   1st Feb 2013 – 6/7 weeks after radiotherapy we had the MRI done which shows - " ill defined mildly enhancing soft tissue lesion in right retromolar trigone. mass appears to be adherent with pterygoid muscles. Possibility of residual neoplasm can be considered. Correlate histopathologically."   My father is experiencing some pain and dryness in mouth and difficulty in swallowing.   Pre radiotherapy our surgeon suspected that the reporting in CT could be misunderstanding the buccal fat pad and negative biopsy report strengthened the hypothesis.   We are meeting the surgeon tomorrow and we expect them to advice either a PET scan or biopsy/FNAC to confirm what this lesion is.    My questions – 1.       Could the mild enhancement on MRI be due to buccal fat pad? 2.       Do benign lesions/tumors get enhanced (mildly) on MRI? 3.       Is it possible to differentiate between dysplasia and neoplasia on MRI? The pre radiotherapy biopsy says - dysplasia and post radiotherapy MRI says - possible neoplasia. Are these stages and what should we do to avoid any malignancy? 4.       Considering the entire area got treated with radiotherapy is there a chance of recurrence in treated area in 2 3 months? 5.       What should be the next steps? http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,70341,0.htm shipranayyar Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:00:00 GMT I had a CT scan and under conclusions in the report it states: 1. Enlarged Liver. Portocaval lymph nodes notable for number rather than caliber. Can someone please give me information as to what this is or means? My primary physician mailed me a copy of report and referred me to a Gastroenterologist. I am scared and would like some info as to what this could be. Mainly so I know if the Gastroenterologist is being honest and telling me the truth. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,68855,0.htm carebear0907 Thu, 25 Oct 2012 00:00:00 GMT My husband was a couple months out of treatment  for vocal cord cancer and doing great.  Suddenly, almost overnight he developed sleep apnea when his lymphedema had become much worse.  He has had the CPAP machine for 4 weeks now and unfortunately the pressure from the machine has made the lymphedema so much worse.  So, now it is like a vicious circle.  He is actually more swollen on his good side and less on the side with the neck dissection.   He has been going for therapy and doing a lot on his own.  It seems  a little better if he sleeps in the recliner but that doesn't make for a very restful night.  Has anyone else had these 2 developments as a result of radiation? http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,68083,0.htm allenswife Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT  I checked the numbers and the first PET SCAN showed asymmetric soft tissue within the right piriform sinus with a maximum SUV of 2.6 this was prior to surgery and removal of the right vocal cord. Luckily after a bioposy this area was negative and just the right vocal cord was removed wotih laser. Now 5 months out of treatment I have read and reread the PET from 3 months ago.  It reads . . . Persistent asymmetry of the piriform sinuses with soft tissuedensity within the right piriform sinus. This demonstrates a maximumSUV of 4.72 I understand that the effects of radiation can cause inflammation but this area has me greatly concerned since it was suspicious before treatment.   Is it possible this could of been a precancerous condition? I am worried what could transpire with this area given it will not be check for 6 month given the time between scans.  I just don't want any surprises in 3 months when the next scan is scheduled.   We are dealing with a very rare cancer and there doesn't seem to be any proof that surgery with radiaton/chemo yields and higher survival rates than surgery alone from the little studies that have been published.    http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,68080,0.htm allenswife Fri, 07 Sep 2012 00:00:00 GMT Hello, I'm twenty-two and recently had another high white blood cell count. I had been feeling really sick for a long time--tired, bone plain, headaches, blurry vision, stomach pain, blood in stool (i do have crohn's disease but this is a bit different), out of breath and so much more. so i had a routine visit at the doctor and my wbc was 14.5 i went to the er a few days later feeling even worse but it went down to 9.5 I ended up going online and looked at my results from my entire life. When I was born it was 14. the lowest it has ever been was in 2004 at a 5.5. but other than that it's always been over an 8. mainly 13s, maybe more 14s. a few 7s. it could be just from my crohn's, i think but i've been in remission. two times ago, for a blood test, it was 18. not sure if i said that. i am going back to the dr in three months. my symptoms, as i said above also include bruising way too easily but then again, i am a pale person. I'm just not sure. I did have a weird tiny bump in my lower belly that hurt like a bruise when touched. I just need some advice--that until i go back to the doctor in three months. Oh, I also have a mole that has grown rapidly on my back--which is weird because i don't think that has anything to do with leukemia. maybe i'm just going insane. also, my vitamin D showed up really low on my blood tests but I don't know if that has to do with anything. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,66543,0.htm freehugs Tue, 05 Jun 2012 00:00:00 GMT Hello people. Yesterday (5/15/2012) I saw this bump or however you want to call it in the back of my throat (I guess that's where the throat is located) and I'm really scared. The thing is, I'm sure it wasn't there a few weeks ago when I was looking at my teeth. And another thing, my brother had a strep throat on Sunday and I'm not sure if that has something to do with it. I'm only 23 years old and I don't smoke by the way.I'm leaving two pictures for you to see and possibly tell me what that looks like. I wish I could go to the doctor but my insurance is very "strict" and I just saw the doctor a month ago and I don't want to go see him for something that could end up being nothing. Is there someone else I could go to? like the dentist? THANK YOU! I'd appreciate the help! http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg809...pg&res=landing http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/8495/051612135400.jpg http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,66218,0.htm marcus123 Wed, 16 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT I wonder if somebody might be able to help.....About 6 weeks ago a lump appeared on my left shoulder/neck.  it is smooth feeling, and moves around under my skin.  It feels to me to be about one and a half cm across it's width and length, but I can't tell how deep. I left it for a week, to see if it would go away, and went to the doctors when it didn't. She arranged an ultrsound scan. I had to wait for a little over four weeks, and in that time I looked on the internet a lot to see what it might be.  Looking at pictures and reading what other people had written, I worked out that it might be a swollen supraclavicular lymph node.  Obviously there are lots of causes of that.  The area around the lump (although not the lump itself) has become uncumfortable, and sometimes a bit achy and tender.  It is often more swollen around the lump, although the lump itself doesn't seem to have changed very much in the 6 weeks.  I have a tight feeling across the front of my neck, and my neck generally looks and feels a little swollen.  When I went for my scan, I was surprised to see "thyroid" on the screen next to my name.  The radiologist told me that my lump looked like fatty tissue.  It was a solid black oval shapeon the screen. She scanned the other side (right), and I saw on the screen a much smaller solid black oval shape in the same place.  She changed the picture on the screen so that it was coloured, and she highlighted several red/yellow/orange patches on the left side that were pulsing.  She looked at the front of my neck, too.  I know that I need to wait for a doctor to look at the scan, and for my GP to speak to me, rather than take what the radiologist told me as the diagnosis.  Does anybody know how different a lymph node and fatty tissue look on an ultrasound scan?  Or what the pulsing bits mean?  If it is a fatty thing, should I have the smaller one on the other side, too?  I would appreciate any information. Thank you very much: Amanda  http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,35990,0.htm amanda190 Sat, 09 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT Can anyone tell me how reliable ct scans are without contrast. For instance would the scan show any inflammation or tumours in the chest, breast etc. Any help would be much appreciated. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,65192,0.htm ketch Sat, 24 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT has anyone ever had a breast mri show nothing but mamogram and ultra sound and core needel biopsy is all pointing to cancer i am told. i did move a bit during the mri.not sure if that would mak nothing show up i sure do not want to do that again.so i am in the waiting stage for 10 days http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,64543,0.htm melconant Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:00:00 GMT Showed a spot on my shoulder and jaw. Nothing further done about these spots. A little nervous because don't know if these were taken to lightly or not. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,63910,0.htm Lilder Mon, 16 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT Can anyone explain what an suv of 5.5 is in a hypermetabolic lymph node? Also does anyone know exactly what cd markers are used for? http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,63658,0.htm ebd1980 Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT All of these doctors are driving us crazy! My mom is 81 yrs old. Since March, sh has been losing alot of weight, loss of appetite, feels full after a few bites, weakness, fatigue. Her MD over 3o yrs wasnt doing much so finially I took her to our local hospital for a full work up. She was there for a week. MRI, x-ray, cat skan, lab work. Blood marks came back high. The doctors said Cancer, sent her home to see another Dr. in another hospital that specialized in cancer, ect. He sent her for more lab work, another MRI, nother Cat scan. He has diagnosed her with something called IPMN. Its when the main duct in the pancreas is dialated. MRI showed a mass at the head of the pancreas but he is unsure because she was moving around. Now we are waiting for the rsults of the CT scan. She gained 5 lbs in the last week due to REMERON, a drug she has been taking now. But she is aso nauseas and vomits a couple of times in the last week. Has anyone had these problems or symtoms?? We are frustrated. http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,61149,0.htm victoria12 Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT Hello,My dad's recent CT shows multiple punctate calcifications in liver (right lobe). All other parameters are fine.The oncologist says it's nothing to be worried about but the point is that I'm really worried since my dad (76 y.o now) had a colon cancer 3 years ago, he underwent surgery, no methastasis and preventive chemo for 6 months- Since then he is under periodical controls, and fortunately everything has been fine so far.I would greatly appreciate some help on the significance of punctate calcifications, any comments will be helpful-Thanks in advance, http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,36541,0.htm Aliciv Tue, 26 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT hi, i am a 68 yr old woman who smoked for 25 yrs and quit 24 yrs ago., last year a ct scan was done to determine if i had COPD...it showed yes i did have COPD...also a .8mm spot on my upper rt lung.  So far in less than 1 year i have had 4 CT scans and 3 PET scans all of which has shown growth from and .8mm to a l.3 cm....both my oncologist and my pulomary doctor have agreed waiting is not an option anymore...they chose a very well known cancer specialist who will be doing a VATS removal next week....do you think i should wait any longer....i am so scared and cannot eat or sleep....they said growth is definitely an indication of lung cancer....am i doing the right thing and has anybody gone this themselves?   http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,60612,0.htm jmcgmiracles Sun, 10 Jul 2011 00:00:00 GMT bout 1 in 4 times right after the Petscan I have severe, painful projectile vomiting. I've looked into what it might be, pain med interactions, the artificial sweetners in the drink stuff etc. Memorial Sloan Kettering offered me to try it once without the pink stuff (you still take the drink, just not the disgusting pink stuff - they do not need it for the dye by the way). I have stage 4 anal cancer. Now I'm on even more painkillers and with a petscan coming up I'm terrified of both the results and the nightmare experience. You know the puking where you do it then you feel better? This isn't thi. This is owl hugging, room spinning, God please please make it stop horror. Has anybody else been through this? It makes me so frustrated when all the docs nurses techies basically act sympathetic but don't really have an answer. I went thru omething similar getting 5% lidocaine creme then one day voila' a diff doc said of course it exits here. Don't these people care? Does a Petscan have to be so horrible? http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,59812,0.htm susantaylor Sun, 05 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Every time I get a Petscan they put my arms in a pillowcase and force me to hold them still over my head. My CIPN has gotten worse with time. I also sometimes projectile vomit after from the pink stuff. The pain in my arms is so bad and these darned techs (sorry) will not let me take a break or put my arms downs for 30 seconds etc etc. I'm not stupid I know they have to do thier cycles, have you stil, but is there no answer to this? Medications help in no way. I have stage 4 anal cancer and a petscan coming up soon. Does anybody have any suggestions? S http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,59811,0.htm susantaylor Sun, 05 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT Hello and thank you for any response anyone can give me. I am a 57 yo woman and just had an MRI of my neck and cervical spine. Many different things showed up but the one thing that grabbed my attention and won't let go was something totally unrelated to what we were looking for. I see my neurologist next week to discuss the findings but I sure wish someone could translate this for me.   It states that there were "Prominent Nasopharyngeal soft tissue" as well as "multiple lymph nodes scattered throughout the neck".....I am uasually good at reseaching things on the computer but when I type in 'nasopharygeal soft tissue" the "only" thing that comes up is cancer! No other option on any site, any where, that I have looked gives any other option.   I am wondering if this is a conclusive cancer diagnosis? Can anyone offer me any info or any other options of maybe something I have not seen while looking for this? http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,56849,0.htm juniper627 Sat, 19 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT 5 years clean,blood test good, now they want to do I131 full body scan with thryogen...any clue as to whats up? should i turn the test down, /? http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,59131,0.htm liveforever Wed, 11 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT My mother, 81, was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer, CLL, and DLCL in November after coming down with endocarditis.  She had surgery for the colon cancer at that time, and it had spread to some lymph nodes as well.  Lymphoma was found at that time as well.  A bone marrow test showed that she also has CLL.  She had a PET scan before her chemo began, and the only thing we were told that "lit up" was her thyroid area.  She has since had an inconclusive needle biopsy, and is scheduled for surgery on it in March. My questions are why did only the thyroid area light up on the scan when she has three other kinds of cancer?  Is that because the others were completely removed when she had the colon surgery?  If that is the case, why would she be having a second PET scan after the first three rounds of CHOP-R chemo "to see if the chemo is working" when the lymphoma never showed up on the scan in the beginning?  I have been told the PET scan is done to check on the progress of the treatment and assess the next step. Thanks in advance... as you can see, I'm baffled and would love anyone's input! http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,55584,0.htm momstrifecta Fri, 04 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT Studies show early detection does little to reduce mortality rates   http://www.newsweek.com/2009/03/27/the-myth-of-early-detecti http://www.cancercompass.com/message-board/message/all,55820,0.htm andy73 Sat, 12 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT