Testing PET, CT scan, etc

It is advisable that if you have chosen the alternative medicine route that you have periodic testing to assure you can treat recurrences, etc., with a more standard approach.  If you do not , you may not have enough time take another approach.  PET scan C T scan and other lab tests will reveal if there is a new or continuing problem. 

I'm wondering what side effects anyone has experienced from PET/CAT scans?

 

The most serious side effect could be that you would not know if you are having a new or continuing problem if you don't have them..  That could be very dangerous.  There are side effects from any course of treatment.  Any extensive use or overuse, if not managed properly by a radiologist, could have consequences.  I have not and will not take a chance.and will continue scans.   They saved my life last year when they picked up a tumor 3 x 5 cm.  They destroyed it with radiation and I am considered a survivor.

Hi Jane M Here are just a few links which are informative and come from reliable sources.... which may help to answer your question.... http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2007/11/28/the-doct http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/cancer/2008/05/30/f Following is an excerpt from... http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003789.htm An abdominal CT scan is usually not recommended for pregnant women, because it may harm the unborn child. Women who are or may be pregnant should speak with their health care provider to determine if ultrasound can be used instead. CT scans and other x-rays are strictly monitored and controlled to make sure they use the least amount of radiation. CT scans do create low levels of ionizing radiation, which has the potential to cause cancer and other defects. However, the risk associated with any individual scan is small. The risk increases as numerous additional studies are performed. In some cases, a CT scan may still be done if the benefits greatly out weigh the risks. For example, it can be more risky not to have the exam, especially if your health care provider thinks you might have cancer. The most common dye used is iodine based. A person who is allergic to iodine may have nausea, sneezing, vomiting, itching, or hives. Rarely, the dye may cause anaphylaxis (a life-threatening allergic response). Considerations A CT scan provides a better picture of internal organs than traditional x-rays. The benefits of an abdominal CT scan usually far outweigh the risks of radiation exposure. Update Date: 1/24/2007 Updated by: Stuart Bentley-Hibbert, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare

On 5/30/2008 Jane M wrote:

I'm wondering what side effects anyone has experienced from PET/CAT scans?

 

The focus of my comment was for those individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer.  The later the stage the stronger need for scans.  CT and PET scans are now overlayed to not only indentify the presence of cancer but to identify the intensity of the growth.  This is very critical in designing a treatment plan to attack the tumor.

And, thank  you Shemay for a very informative post

Thank you so much . This response was very helpful to me and explains
some of the added itchiness I have felt.Thanks for taking the time to
answer. Best,Jane

Eddie Please do not give up posting. You have been an inspiration to many. This board needs messages of hope and inspiration and the information you share about other modalities that are successfu is so important for those who are discouraged by traditional treatment. I truly understand your frustration when your messages are deemed "unacceptable" when your only motive is to be helpful by passing along your story of success and how you made it happen. Your voice needs to be heard...so please....reconsider. Highest regards Shemay

On 6/3/2008 Zaput wrote:

 You are considered a survivor only because your body was able to come back from the barrage of poisons given through traditional treatments (if that's what you had).  If not, then you are a poster "child" for alternative means.

I agree with you that one should be diligent in their progress, and the best way is by scanning.  But I haven't had a scan in over 6 months and I know I am fine.  Will take another scan in a year just to make sure.  But with the variety of immune-boosting products and a enlightened education, there isn't much concern on my part about a relapse.

You see, God made the stuff here on Earth; it is our journey to find and utilize them.  I know...

Eddie 

Last post.   I can't take the administrative penalties anymore. 

On 5/30/2008 Arnold wrote:

The most serious side effect could be that you would not know if you are having a new or continuing problem if you don't have them..  That could be very dangerous.  There are side effects from any course of treatment.  Any extensive use or overuse, if not managed properly by a radiologist, could have consequences.  I have not and will not take a chance.and will continue scans.   They saved my life last year when they picked up a tumor 3 x 5 cm.  They destroyed it with radiation and I am considered a survivor.

 

I am not a poster "child" for anything. Nor do I condider myself as having been "poisened"  I have received chemo and have had many side effects.  I have endured them with a positive approach, my family, friends and great doctors.  Take the alternative approach and push any scans out as long as you like.  That is your choice.  Until I see overwhelming evidence ( success rate) for alternative care as published by a reputable professionsal source, I will not go the route of alternative care.  As I have mentioned before, the best choice may be a combination of the two, and I am doing some of that as I proceed.  I am scheduled to have my next PETscan on June 23rd, and I will not delay it.  And Shemay, again, what stage were you when you decided to do alternative care?  It is important for us to know that so that we can use the stage to determine what direction to go in.  I'll get very specific here.  If a personn is early stage without mets and the  cancer was contained within the colon, could alternative be the best choice?  Going to alternative being in stage 3 and especially 4 with mets could be dangerous.

Hi Arnold As I've told you in past messages, it is wonderful that you have had such good success using traditional treatments and I'm sure your belief in them and your positive attitude has helped immensely. It is also wonderful that I have had such good success using alternative treatments and I'm sure my belief in them and my postitive attitude helped me immensely as well. I really don't see what we have to disagree on. I am not on this board to discourage anyone from taking the path of their choice. I only offer information on what has worked for me that might be helpful for others. As for the links I posted re the radiation accumulative danger from scans etc. they too were not meant to discourage anyone else from taking these tests. They were just meant as a source of information so that others can make an "informed" choice. As for my diagnosis, I certainly have no objection to posting it again here even though it is a story I have told many times on this board. In May 2004 I was diagnosed with what the doctors thought was pneumonia. After a month on antibiotics my condition had worsened and so I was hospitalized. Scans and Xrays at that time showed I had a huge mass(approx 10cmx10cm) in my chest cavity that had caused the collapse of the center lobe of my right lung. The lung was infected and entrapped and after ten days of attempting to pump the infection from the lung, surgery was advised to clean the infection out and unentrap the lung. During surgery an enlarged lymph node was noted on the heart. Needle biopsies were done at that time and the diagnosis of marginal zone B cell Lymphoma was made. The tumour in the chest cavity was inoperable as were smaller tumours noted in the lower lobes of both lungs. Chemotherapy was recommended for me in order to "perhaps" save myself. Thankfully as I searched for the best path for me to take, I was mentored by a young man who has survived cancer twice using only alternative treatments. Once when he was thirteen and had a brain tumour and then again twenty five years later when he developed stomach cancer. It is now over six years later and he is still cancer free. Both times he received gentle, natural treatments from a Naturopath. As for your wanting to see overwhelming evidence ( success rate) for alternative care as published by a reputable professionsal source, when you become more aware of the bias on this Continent against alternative therapies and alternative doctors (even the ones with medical training such as the one I have) you will understand that they would make such publications or claims at their peril. The clinic I go to has had amazing successes with a variety of cancers and yet the geneticist/medical/alternative doctor who oversees this clinic must weigh even his words carefully when discussing treatment options for fear of reprisals. It is unfortunate, but that is the truth. Even in your country many wonderful doctors who offered alternative treatments that were often successful were so harrassed and even prosecuted just for making claims of success that they had to move their practices to other countries such as Mexico. Well enough said Arnold. I am taking up valuable space here. Peace......and continued good health for both of us.

On 6/3/2008 Arnold wrote:

I am not a poster "child" for anything. Nor do I condider myself as having been "poisened"  I have received chemo and have had many side effects.  I have endured them with a positive approach, my family, friends and great doctors.  Take the alternative approach and push any scans out as long as you like.  That is your choice.  Until I see overwhelming evidence ( success rate) for alternative care as published by a reputable professionsal source, I will not go the route of alternative care.  As I have mentioned before, the best choice may be a combination of the two, and I am doing some of that as I proceed.  I am scheduled to have my next PETscan on June 23rd, and I will not delay it.  And Shemay, again, what stage were you when you decided to do alternative care?  It is important for us to know that so that we can use the stage to determine what direction to go in.  I'll get very specific here.  If a personn is early stage without mets and the  cancer was contained within the colon, could alternative be the best choice?  Going to alternative being in stage 3 and especially 4 with mets could be dangerous.