PET scan yesterday

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anneflorida
anneflorida Member Posts: 59
edited June 2014 in Stage III Breast Cancer

I am 3 years out from treatment and had my annual PET scan which was negative for cancer.  My oncologist came in to the examination room asking me about my stomach.  I said that my stomach was fine and that I felt great.  He showed me the PET scan and a large area of my stomach was lit up and he said that it indicated gastritis and scheduled me for an endoscopy.  Has this happened to anyone else?

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  • karen1956
    karen1956 Member Posts: 6,503
    edited July 2013

    My onc does not do routine scans...he only does scans if patient is symptommatic....congrats on the good NO cancer results....

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  • LindaLou53
    LindaLou53 Member Posts: 929
    edited July 2013

    Hi Anne, a PET scan is fairly sensitive to revealing areas of inflammation or increased metabolic activity that does not necessarily indicate cancer activity.  My PET scan showed lots of "lit up" areas in my lumbar spine and hips but this was due to longstanding arthritis and disc degeneration in those areas.  The radiologists are pretty good at distinguishing between areas suspicious for cancer and areas due to benign inflammatory processes.

    It sounds like there are no worries about cancer on your PET, but it is a good idea to have the stomach checked out if you have had no previous history of GI issues.  A lot of women experience GI distress including gastritis even several years following chemo treatments. Our GI systems also get a little more sensitive as we get older, so it may just be an early "heads up" for you.

    It is great you are feeling good and no signs of cancer 3 years out!  Smile

    Linda

    P.S. I and my onc believe in doing annual CT scans, not PETs because a PET can have a higher incidence of false positives.  Also it is not very accurate at detecting small lesions 1.0 cm in size or smaller.  PET scans are also more expensive than CTs but are still very useful when needing confirmation of suspicious areas if found on CT.  I personally would much rather find something early which typically may not be symptomatic, than wait for symptoms to present themselves.

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  • jennyboog
    jennyboog Member Posts: 1,322
    edited July 2013

    Congrats on 3 yrs....I'm 3 yrs today!  I did a scan last mth and know they will lit up inflammation so it would make sense that it would.  I've had stomach issue since tx.  I have taken Prilosec since chemo and had h.pylori also.  Congrats again dx sister :) 

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited July 2013

    Linda,  Glad to have that info re: ct scan as I have sadly followed your path starting at 0 then 2a and very recently further on. V

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  • taffy_needhelp1234
    taffy_needhelp1234 Member Posts: 10
    edited July 2013

    Linda Lou, I have questions for you. I was diagnosed with stage 2 with no lymph node involvement. MRI and CT showed no mets and then the bone scan showed suspicious for mets to 10th rib. how accurate is this test and doctor did order pet scan but Im so scared that it has spread to bones. need help.

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  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited July 2013

    By the way, my doctor does both at same time I just learned. V

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  • taffy_needhelp1234
    taffy_needhelp1234 Member Posts: 10
    edited July 2013

    is the bone scan accurate? most likely pet scan will show same thing?

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