To scan or not to scan

jdootoo

I will be finishing my Herceptin treatments next month (hurray! ) and spoke with my Oncologist and PS about scheduling my exchange surgery. They both agreed that a PET scan is not necessary unless I want to have one done.

First I thought I wanted a scan, just to know... should I have my port removed? should I be concerned about the few active cells found in my lymph nodes? should I be concerned about the 2 lung nodules that were too small to biopsy?

Then I thought, no, it is better for me just to move forward and keep believing that I am NED. I thought it is also better not to know if I have had a recurrence, unless I start having symptoms.

Now I am thinking maybe I should have the scan since both my DH and I are considering returning to school this year and the decisions we make might be altered by the outcome of the scan.

I never thought I would have such a hard time making a decision about this. I am not sure if others have had these same concerns and/or worries, but if you have, I would love it if you would share your experiences with me.

One love, Jackie 

kimber3006

Congrats on finishing Herceptin!  I just finished mine in January.  To scan or not to scan is such a tough question.  Personally I don't want any I don't have to do.  It's so stressful, and if I'm going to recur, I want to blissfully ignorant of the fact as long as possible.

AgentMo

Jackie, I think you should scan. Even though it is not in the official guidelines yet, there are quite a lot of doctors and scientist around that believe that finding mets early is very useful and makes treatment much more successful. You are not worse off in any case, but you can become active should there be need to. Personally, I have an easier time to cope with reality than remaining in a hopeful, yet anxious state.

karen1956

I wouldn't scan unless you are symptomatic!!!  my onc only does scans if a patient wants it or if symptomatic.....I had a CT/PET scan at time of Dx as well as all sorts of other tests....now just blood work which is just fine with me....btw....congrats on finishing the Herception.  

Lowrider54

I am not going to be much help but I wanted to let you know I am thinking of you whatever you decide and congrats on finishing the Herceptin!

jennyboog

Wow, that's a tough one...I have been deep in thought about what to do with my life now that tx is coming to an end...go back to work, stay at home mom or go back to school.  I keep coming up with the "what if's"...if I knew this stuff would never come back then I'd go to school but if I knew it would I'd stay home with my children and soak up every moment with them.  So, I guess what I'm getting at is, I would just to know and have peace of mind, if you're having no symptoms then hopefully you want worry over the results.  I'm the type of person to wonder so I'd have to do it.  Congrats on finishing, so happy for you.  I'm not sure if my rambling helped or not

americanpinay

Hi Jackie,

First, congratulations on finishing treatment. About your scan question, it looks like you had a PET before treatment and it showed some activity on your lymph nodes, is that correct? Then I would do another PET because I would want to know that treatment took care of those areas of concern. Just keep in mind that tests beget tests. I should know as I had a whole bunch of scans recently. What I had learned from this experience is that scan results can't really give me the peace of mind I'd like to have. Going forward, I have to think of tests or scans as things I have to do to make sure that, if there is something going on, it could be taken care of ASAP.

Good luck with your decision. Take care. 

YATCOMW

I personally wish I did not have as many scans that i did the first couple of years.....my doctor always was willing to scan if I was worried about some pain....i think mostly for peace of mind.....which is so valuable.

 

So i think if you feel you would like to confirm that everything is okay....and that it is time to move forward and get on with life....then I would do the scan.

 

Otherwise I would save my scans for when I really, really needed to do them.  Honestly, they are not good for us.

 

Jacqueline 

jdootoo

Thank you everybody... I can see that it is a tough decision for each of us. I am still undecided, but received some great advice from all of you!  I will continue praying and meditating over it, but now I have to go see why my 5 year old keeps sneaking from room to room like he is hiding something! (have already found an empty bag of goldfish -- healthy breakfast! )

One love, Jackie 

pip57

Maybe a little late, but here is my take on the scans.  I have chosen only to have them done if symptoms appear.  I just lost a friend who was stage II and routinely screened.  Two months after a clear set of tests, she developed symptoms that were indeed mets.

 So, until they can tell me that my clear scan will be a guarantee of NED for a certain time period, I will keep my head buried in the sand.  The view from there is good!

gutsy

I used to think I wanted scans done. However, my oncologist does not do them unless there are symptoms. I also learned that 1 CT scan is the equivalent of 30 x-rays in terms of exposure to radiation. I would hate to get another cancer from being exposed to so much radiation