Pet vs CT

Imagine

Has anyone had experience with Pet Scan or CT Scan with ER+ BC Metastasis? Any stories of CT missing something that a Pet SCan would have picked up. I think the insurance companies drive how we get DX and treated. Thanks in Advance

babsbrink

I have a yearly CT lung cancer screening,(father and sister had lung cancer) anyway, a couple of years ago my scan showed a "shadow" in my mid-chest, so my respiratory Md. ordered another CT this time with contrast,there still appeared to be only a shadow,he was sure there was something there. My oncologist wanted to wait six months and scan again and look for changes, my respiratory Md. didn't want to wait, he wanted me to get a PET. Of course I was scared and decided to get the PET, it turned out there was a golf ball sized tumor in my thymus, I had open chest surgey, it turnd out to be benign. So that was good news. But two CT scans were not able to determine that I had a pretty big tumor. Listen to your inner voice, not the insurance company,

Anonymous

My understanding -- PET shows the metabolic activity of the tumor, CT shows the masses, fractures and other injuries etc but doesn't show the metabolic activity of cancer.

Most of the time the PET is combined with CT (part of the same machine) so you are getting the benefit of both if you have a PET scan.