Though I understand their limitations and their over-sensitivity at times, I'm a believer in PET scans. My doctor ordered one last spring after I complained about some tenderness in an area of my neck. It came back showing a "hot spot". That set in motion me discovering that I had a quarter-sized cancerous lymph node. My doctor couldn't feel it when he did the manual test, even after knowing it was there. Who knows how long I would have gone not knowing that tumor was in there if not for my doctor's hunch and him encouraging me to have a PET done... Just my .02 worth... (FYI - my last PET in November came back negative for cancer recurrence)...


Tongue cancer (SCC), diagnosed Oct. 2003 (T2 N0 M0). Surgery to remove tumor. IMRT Radiation 30x in Dec 2003 - Jan. 2004. Recurrence lymph node - radical neck dissection June 2004. Second round of rad/chemo treatments ended Sept. 2004.