6 mth pet scan worse then 3 mth???

I was just wondering if anybody else experienced their 6 mth scan being worse then the 3 mth???? The drs say that the hot spots can be dead cancer cells? repeat scan in 2mths? the reasoning of doing the 6mth scan was to make sure the hot spots werent active cancer so being that it was worse why are they waiting another 2mths?? is it possible they are just dead cancer cells??

On May 04, 2012 4:41 PM kdoren323 wrote:

I was just wondering if anybody else experienced their 6 mth scan being worse then the 3 mth???? The drs say that the hot spots can be dead cancer cells? repeat scan in 2mths? the reasoning of doing the 6mth scan was to make sure the hot spots werent active cancer so being that it was worse why are they waiting another 2mths?? is it possible they are just dead cancer cells??

 

 

Are you doing a pet scan or CT?

My hub had a few CT's plus pet scans every 6 months. He was part of a clinical trial that required extra CT testing. I remember one CT that was done had hot spots; both the rad oncol & ENT said dead cells. I stopped reading reports. He was treated at a large university center; I had to put my trust in them. It gets easier.

Hopefully someone else can ease your mind.

actually asking for my dad....he finished chemo and radiation in oct...so the 3 mth pet scan showed a small hot spot ( dr said most likely dead cancer cells) recheck in another 3 mths ( which would be his 6 mth post pet scan) now the hot spots are larger??? they scoped him and said they didnt see any signs of cancer but the petscan shows a small hotspot in the largnx and an even larger hot spot on the lymph node...dr said this could also be dead cancer cells?? wait 2 mths?? this just doesnt make sense to me and i was hoping somebody else was told the same thing....

K--

I had complications after radiation (my throat closed up completely), and the scans later did show some activity, but my doctors were convinced that it was consistent with the inflamation in my throat.  In fact, my ENT and I saw the scans before they had been read by radiology, which he said was good since the radiologist would identify them as cancer, while we knew it was something else.

I would question the doctor more carefully if you are not satisfied with the "wait and see" answer.  But you should know that other things besides cancer can show up on these things.  You could get a second opinion on the reading, but at some point you just have to trust your doctors on these interpretations.  Maybe a more detailed explanation is all you really need?

Best of luck to you!

Susan