PET Scan Uptake in Stomach and Rectum

EmmaW

Hi-

I am 46, three years post-mastectomy and Stage 1 ILC. I was on Tamoxifan for 8 months and had terrible side effects. Since it was Stage 1, I went off the Tamoxifan figuring that my chances of recurrence was low.

I recently lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time (primarily because I was nauseous every time I ate and so I had very little appetite). While I was happy to lose weight, my oncologist was concerned and ran a PET scan and it came back with uptake in my stomach and rectum (SUV 4). I am having a colonoscopy and endoscopy to investigate it further.

My question is this: I keep thinking that since I was Stage I, the odds of this being anything cancer related are slim. Is that accurate or am I in denial? Can you go from Stage I to Stage IV after having a mastectomy? And would it show up in the stomach?

Also, can PET scans light up in some areas just randomly? Like, could this just be a whole lotta nothing and I'm worried for no reason?

Any info anyone can give would be appreciated. I'm scheduled for the colonoscopy and endoscopy on Monday.

Thanks-

Emma

Lula73

hi Emma- so sorry you're having to deal with this. I'll try to answer your questions- can this be cancer again? Yes it can be but it may not be mets from the BC, although it is a possibility. Could it be a false positive? Yes it could be especially if certain pre-scan protocols were not followed. Sometimes we aren't even given all the pre-scan protocols either. Timing of last meal before scan, what you ate, timing of last exercise/physical activity, etc can cause false positives. Let's hope this is the case. The endoscopy and colonoscopy should give you the answers you need, sending well wishes your way! Keep us posted

Anonymous

Unfortunately a mastectomy only removes the cancerous breasts, it doesn't do anything to prevent cancer cells from slipping out into the bloodstream and setting up shop somewhere else.

And also Lobular likes to metastasize to the GI tract much more than Ductal.

I would think though, that if you had developed some unrelated digestive condition, that would produce inflammation and would show up on a PET. There's tons of inflammatory GI conditions out there that have nothing to do with cancer. I'm not real well-versed in PETs as my onco prefers CTs so im not sure of stuff like worrisome SUV scores.

I hope Monday comes quickly and you get answers soon. ((()))