Question!!!!!

My father had his 1st follow up PET scan after his first 3 rounds of Chemo this past Thursday. The good report is that his chemo has shrunk the tumor in his lung not dissolved but shrunk which is good news. I was not able to be at the Dr visit and I asked him what about the areas that were also effected he has it in his lymph nodes as well as 6th rib and in his hip as well. I should tell you he was Dx as stage 4 in March09. The Dr did not show the whole Pet scan just the area of his lung which I think is kind of strange. Should he have shown all the areas effected by the cancer to see if they had grown or shrunk as well???? You know how your mind gets to working and right away my thought was he did not show these areas because they have gotten worse. What are your thoughts????

I would request a copy of the report which should discuss all the findings and generally compares it to the most recent scan done. I know our oncologist does not withhold bad news, but she told me back at the start that it is a good idea to get and keep all reports, scans, etc.  If you read the report, you know what kinds of questions to ask and it alleviates a lot of the worry about whether you might be missing some vital piece of information by not being able to be present at the appointment. 

I think the reason why Dr. hv not discuss about other area , except for Lung, is because of condition of other area hv no changes. So, not to be so worry .

But, most of the Dr. will run thro' the complete report with patient .

Anyway, if you have the report ( prepare by the Radiology Doctor after each scan, be it X ray ; CT Scan or PET Scan ) and the film with you, you shud be able to read the report and make a comparision of the film with previous PET Scan .

Just for your information, I keep all the Scan ( X Ray / CT Scan / PET Scan ) report and film , also all blood test report . It is important for us to hv all those report , as we will need it , when we go for second or third opinion or when travelling . Those report will help other Doctor to analyse the condition and give proper opinion. 

 

 

Reply to question!!!!

Dear friend,

I was diagnosed in stage 1V non small cell squamous cell.  The bad news is that they said I had 6 months to live. It had already matasized to my lymph nodes. I thought I was a goner!  The good news is .....that was 6 and a half years ago!!!!  They've had me on about every chemo known to medical history. Taxatere works the best, but I seem to become immune to it after about 2 cycles. I've also tried the oral forms (Treceva & Xeloda), but neither did that much to shrink the tumors. After the first round back in 2003, it did go into remission for about 2 years. I have 8 or 9 tumors in my left lung and several in lymph nodes. Recently, tumors came up on right side of my neck, but disappeared after a round of taxatere and Avastin. I never smoked in my life!!!!! The problem is that no matter what they try, the tumors will always come back. But, through patience I have endured all the side effects. I still work a  40 hour job and have a better attendance record than most of the other healthy employees. I take chemo on my days off (Tue & Wed). My friends call my the "Energizer bunny." I just keep going and going and going........!!!

Keep records, as suggested in other messages. Get copies of bloodtest,ct's or pets and all disks. Above all....NEVER GIVE UP!!!

Good luck!

Forever Hopeful in Texas