Scared -Clean CT scan but hot spot on PET scan

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BrandyB
BrandyB Member Posts: 195
edited June 2014 in Not Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastases but Concerned
Scared -Clean CT scan but hot spot on PET scan
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  • BrandyB
    BrandyB Member Posts: 195
    edited April 2011

    I had a ct scan with contrast and it didn't show any bone lesions.  Yesterday I had a PET which showed hypermetabolic activity with a suv of 3.7 on my rib.  I haven't been able to discuss this with my Dr.  Anyone had a false positive on a PET scan before?

    I just had a bad cold and was coughing.  Is it possible that I damage my rib and it wouldn't show up on an X-ray or CT Scan, but would chow up on a PET?  Or is it more likely cancer that wasnt detected by the ct scan?

    I'm beyond scared.  I'm TN, so I feel doomed.  Please don't tell me statistics or life expectancies, I don't think that I could handle that right now.

    Thanks,

    Brandy

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  • Suze35
    Suze35 Member Posts: 1,045
    edited April 2011

    Brandy - PET scans frequently give false positives, which is why some doctors don't like to use them as a first scan. They can lead to test after test, and lots of worry. Arthritis can show up, as well as past injuries. Please try and remember this as you wait to talk with your doctor. It is scary I know, hugs to you.

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  • SoutherMother
    SoutherMother Member Posts: 111
    edited May 2011

    BrandyB - I've had several PET scans that were successful in finding a tumor in my spine.  But the biopsies following could not confirm it to be cancer.  Some would call that a false positive, but the doctors all agreed that when the SUV went up into the 9's that a low dose of radiation would help the minor symptoms.  It did stop it and no more hyper-metabolic stuff.  PET scans show the sugar consumption activity of the areas of interest.  I believe CT's only show the structural change.  I can't remember which one does what, but one is better at showing lytic lesions (think porous bones) while the other is better at blastic(?) lesions. It's been a couple of years since I researched this so things could have changed.  Hope you get to talk with your doctor soon.  

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  • sharalou
    sharalou Member Posts: 223
    edited May 2011

    I had a ct scan of chest, and it was negative. Had a pet scan and there was an area in the somewhere mediastinum.  Go figure.

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