Concerned about my sister's petscan

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kittycat
kittycat Member Posts: 2,144
edited June 2014 in Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned

My sister was dx with bc in Oct 2008. She had a bmx and chemo, which ended in May 2009.  Recently, she's been having pain on her rib, near the area where she had bc.  She went in for a breast MRI, genetic testing (because I'm BRCA 1+) and a petscan.  Her onco called her to talk about her petscan.  An area on her rib where the pain is lit up on the scan.  They are very concerned and she's having a regular MRI done to further investigate the area. 

How accurate are petscans?  Are there a lot of false positives? 

This breast cancer thing sucks!!! I hate this disease and what it's done to us!

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  • TriciaK
    TriciaK Member Posts: 362
    edited February 2010

    Hi Kittycat,

    In my own recent scare the pet scan was correct, and mri inaccurate but of course thats not always the case.  I'm really sorry your sister has this added stress but it may be other things rather than cancer.  I don't know the actual % of pet/ct V MRI  but think rather one can compliment the other if in doubt about a diagnosis.  I think with all tests too there are bound to be false pos/negs and I really do hope your sister has benign results or a cracked rib or something other than cancer:)

     Btw, love your avatar, he looks just like my hugs silver Maine Coon Louis:)

    Tricia x

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  • kittycat
    kittycat Member Posts: 2,144
    edited February 2010

    Thanks TriciaK  - I really do hope that everything is okay.  I am so worried about my sister.  I can't stop thinking about her and my niece, too.  It's so scary. 

     Yeah, that's my kitty Beyonce.  She's my smallest cat - about 8 lbs.  I have another long hair that's about 13 lbs. - Tigger.  He's a big man!!!  I think he's part Maine Coone!  :) 

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  • mimi1030
    mimi1030 Member Posts: 700
    edited February 2010

    Hi Kittycat,

    Have they thought about doing a bone scan vs MRI.  Not sure how much more MRI will show.  But, bone scan should be able to tell if it is something benign.  My mom gets PET/CT scans and has for the past 2 and a half years.  In her case they were correct. But, I think that typically doctors used bone scanning for the bones because PET/CT not the best choice.  I hope that your sister gets the all clear and it is nothing or something other than cancer. 

    Any type of inflammatory process can trigger the glucose reaction that the PET/CT picks up.  It is not just cancer that attracts sugar.  A biopsy will tell you for sure of course. 

    Keep us posted on your sister and what it is.

    Hugs Michelle

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  • kittycat
    kittycat Member Posts: 2,144
    edited February 2010

    She is getting an MRI and a bone biopsy.  The MRI was done yesterday.  she should have results back by Tuesday morning. 

    A bone biopsy sounds painful.  What's entailed with that? 

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  • debbie6122
    debbie6122 Member Posts: 5,161
    edited February 2010

    Kittycat- I hope your sisters results come back ok, I had a petscan light up in mthe side of my head, it ended up being a false neg, hope this is the case for your sister,

    A bone biopsy is when they take a piece of the bone from the area they are biopsing, and do it under anesthesa(sp) she will be a little sore after wards but shouldnt feel anyting during the actual procedure

    Hope all turns out ok I will keep her in my thoughts and prayers

    debbie

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  • TriciaK
    TriciaK Member Posts: 362
    edited February 2010

    Kittycat,

    I thought I was getting a bone biopsy with my recent mets scare and checked it out, it sounds like it's uncomfortable but over quickly and your sister can be sedated most likely.  This is what I would have requested.

    One of the ladies who reassured me had one, and while it was'nt pleasant it was bearable.

    Keep us posted!

    Tricia xx

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