Anyone Had a PEM Scan Before?

Options
texasdonna
texasdonna Member Posts: 36
edited June 2014 in Stage I Breast Cancer

My breast surgeon recommended a PEM (PET Mammogram) for getting a closer look at a nodule near my reconstruction scar under the left breast. I'm wondering what the test entails and why they want to do more testing instead of just removing the nodule and doing a biopsy. It's been there for over a year and shows a kinetic changes. Does anyone else get the feeling that their doctors minimize everything and take a "wait & see" attitude? My surgeon only recommended the PEM after I told her that I refuse to just watch the thing grow for another year. There IS a possibility of the nodule being a local recurrence, isn't there?

· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • Fearless_One
    Fearless_One Member Posts: 3,300
    edited January 2011

    Yes, I had a PEM just prior to my lumpectomy, she wanted to get a closer look, I guess.   It's uneventful.   They give you injection for contrast and you have to sit still and read a book or watch tv for about 40 minutes.  Then they take you to a machine that looks similar to a mammo machine.  Doesn't hurt or anything.   Pictures come out clear as daylight, and I have dense breasts.

    I later learned there is a tremendous amount of radiation in using them, which might be why they are not used often.  

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • texasdonna
    texasdonna Member Posts: 36
    edited January 2011

    Thanks, Fearless One. (Love the name!) Glad to know it doesn't hurt and that the pics come out nice and clear. I had dense breasts, too, but they found my initial bc in a digital mammo (my 1st one ever at 42). I feel VERY lucky that my daughter told me to go get a mammo just to have a baseline or things could've been a lot worse down the road. I never felt a lump and neither did my OB/Gyn.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Fearless_One
    Fearless_One Member Posts: 3,300
    edited January 2011

    Glad they found yours on any kind of mammo!   I have dense breasts, too, and always had digital mammos (which proved useless on me).  

    Just don't expect a PEM as a yearly diagnositic tool, they won't do it (too $$ and too much radiation).   But no, it's a piece of cake.  Bring a book!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Abbey11
    Abbey11 Member Posts: 335
    edited January 2011

    Hi,

    I was part of a clinical trial testing out the PEM when I was diagnosed in Sept. of 08.  I had been diagnosed with a tumor in my right breast; the PEM saw that one and also found another in my left breast that the mammo and ultrasound missed.  Both tumors lit up clear as day.  The procedure is as fearless describes.  They give you an injection and you have to sit still for about an hour.  I was not allowed to read; I took a nap.  The imaging is a little uncomfortable, but not really painful.  Each breast is compressed twice - top to bottom and side to side - and the compression is for about 7 minutes so that the PEM can scan.  They are expensive, and they do expose you to radiation, but the doc running the trial said that Pems provide better imaging than mammos and MRIs.  I was really lucky to have the opportunity to get this scan; I think you should take advantage of it if it's offered.  Good luck!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • texasdonna
    texasdonna Member Posts: 36
    edited January 2011

    Thanks for all the great info! I'm glad my surgeon suggested it if it'll help determine whether this nodule is benign or malignant. Hopefully I can schedule if for a day when I'm already off work. The surgeon's office called yesterday and said they just rec'd the PEM scanner machine and they're getting it "put together", like assembling it. When it's ready and functioning, they'll call to schedule the scan. Hmm. I hope they know what they're doing.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Fearless_One
    Fearless_One Member Posts: 3,300
    edited January 2011

    Yup, my tumor lit up like  a Christmas tree.  Even showed up where I had lymph node involvement!   Go for the PEM....but drink tons of water afterward to flush out your system.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • texasdonna
    texasdonna Member Posts: 36
    edited January 2011

    Just curious, Fearless: why are you waiting till March for the mastectomies? Are you doing chemo first? I was diagnosed in Dec. and had a bilat mastectomy in Jan. ('08), but then I didn't do any chemo or radiation. Will you be doing tissue expanders and reconstruction? Let me know if you have any questions.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Fearless_One
    Fearless_One Member Posts: 3,300
    edited January 2011

    Texasdonna, I already had chemo/lumpectomy & radiation.   I am just having the mastectomy for peace of mind since I have dense breasts and mammo never saw my tumor.

    Yes, will have TE's, not enough fat for DIEP and don't want the SGAP because I don't want a huge scar across my butt.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • texasdonna
    texasdonna Member Posts: 36
    edited January 2011

    That's SO smart, Fearless. I've noticed there's a big anti-mastectomy movement out there, but for some of us gals it's such a big relief not to have to go every 6 months for the mammo and I found it empowering to be able to make that choice with my surgeon (he highly recommended it). After the reconstruction, nobody could even tell I'd had any breast surgery. Same here with the lack of fat. I had skin sparing bmx with TE's for 6 months to stretch the skin and muscle, and then teardrop gummy bear silicone implants. They did the mx incisions around each areola, which you can't even hardly see now, and the implant incisions underneath each breast. I can see those with a mirror, but nobody else can see them even when I wear a bikini. I hope you have the same good fortune and the same peace of mind. That's priceless.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Fearless_One
    Fearless_One Member Posts: 3,300
    edited January 2011

    Texas, I have read that, too - there there is a growing number of women having mastectomies that don't have to - I think that says a lot about current diagnosics that have failed some of us.   I think it is also due to the new reconstruction options out there.  

    I tell ya, I have seen some women that look better AFTER their surgeries than they did before!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories