Full body scan

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Kine
Kine Member Posts: 30
edited June 2014 in Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned

I am not sure if this is the correct forum for this question, if not, hopefully a moderator will move it.



I am now done with surgery, and waiting for app with onc. See my data below.



Now I am considering a full body scan (Pet) (in a private clinic, payd by me), before I start chemo, to be sure I have the right diagnosis before therapy starts.



Does anyone have any insight or input for me for this decsission?

Pros/cons?

Thanks in advance!

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  • kathleen1966
    kathleen1966 Member Posts: 793
    edited March 2011

    I would do the scan after chemo.  Perhaps this will confirm that the chemo worked for you.  Normally with positive nodes they would do this type of scan for staging purposes.  I had a PET scan before treatment.  ideally, it would have been nice to have a PET before and then after chemo.  They are expensive though and I was told no scans unless I have symptoms.  Trying to protect me from unnecessary radiation, etc.....from too many scans.

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  • tpcjkk
    tpcjkk Member Posts: 67
    edited March 2011

    Hi,

    You may want to wait to discuss with your onc.  He/she may send you for a PET.  That's what happened to me - I got referred for a PET by my onc. at my first visit with him; it happened on an expedited basis since he wanted to start chemo no later than 1 month after my lumpectomy. 

    Good luck. 

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  • americanpinay
    americanpinay Member Posts: 338
    edited March 2011

    Hi Kine,

    Talk to your onc and see if he recommends it. My onc did NOT recommend a PET scan before chemo because, if I remember correctly, he didn't think it would change the treatment course. At first, I thought maybe he said no because of insurance, costs, etc. BUT he did recommend a PET scan after I completed my treatment so I guess he really just thought it wasn't necessary before treatment.

    Good luck to you. 

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  • VJSL8
    VJSL8 Member Posts: 652
    edited March 2011

    This is my second time with cancer and so my oncologist ordered a PET scan immediately--although it was clear, he still recommended chemo, which I declined. he wants to do one every 6 months for the first 2 years and I'm declining that also--because I won't do chemo regardless of the outcome, so unless I start having symptoms or my blood work goes wonky, I won't do another scan. So I guess the question should be: will the outcome change the treatment course? or will it be the same? I would only do one, IF the outcome would change your treatment.

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  • RunswithScissors
    RunswithScissors Member Posts: 323
    edited March 2011

    The first docs I saw after my initial diagnosis did not want to do scans, MRI's - nothing.   I wasn't comfortable with that and found a new team that ordered baseline scans of everything. 

     Without getting bogged down by the details, I can say that having those scans to refer back to have been very helpful as I confonted treatment decisions.  I know exactly what was and was not there from the beginning. 

     I am very scan shy and share the same philosophy as VJSL8 - now,  I only allow scans when I have compelling symptoms. But I am very glad for all the initial testing I had done.

     In the end, it's most important that you can sleep well with whatever you decide. 

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  • krcll
    krcll Member Posts: 343
    edited March 2011

    Kine- I live in Norway, too, and I got a CT and bone scan for staging purposes. Then when there were some things that weren't clear, they did a MRI and PET to clarify. I started with surgery and chemo after. I did the scans about 2 months after I had started chemo. Why are you not sure of your diagnosis? Which hospital are you at? I am at Ullevål. Please PM me if you want.

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  • Kine
    Kine Member Posts: 30
    edited March 2011

    krcll: I am at Radiumhospitalet.



    I have now taken full body scan PET/CT (in a private clinic). The result seems to be good, but I have posted a related question in a separate thread.



    Thanks for your responses!

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  • yizbieta
    yizbieta Member Posts: 100
    edited March 2011

    I insisted that I have a CT scan with contrast before I started chemo, even though my oncologist did not recommend it- he said, because my diagnosis did not seem to warrant having one before the chemo treatment. I felt it was better for me to have a baseline because otherwise, I would be sitting there getting chemo, wondering if tumors were already there and growing for those five months of treatment. It was all about my peace of mind. .

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