Standard operating procedure at Johns Hopkins, for what it's worth, is that all head/neck cancer patients get a PET/CT scan at 3 and 6 months' after treatment, then (usually) it goes to every 6 months for two years, then annually for some years (3 more I think).

Barry had the first two scans (clear!) and his next one will be a year after end of treatment, unless RO feels it is not necessary. Our ENT surgeon also orders scans but is wary of false positives -- if there is a suspicious reading, he might want an MRI to check the area, or even a biopsy if practicable. Actually, speaking to the JH radiologist - who only reads HNC and brain scans so he's seen 100s if not 1000s of them -- he says that rate of "false positives" is less than 10% and maybe only about 5% -- however, inflammation, healing, and active infection can produce "activity" and this requires experience to sort out. Barry's last scan showed activity in chest area which they said was residual from his (earlier) pneumonia and noted it needed to be followed-up on and treated.

PET/CT scans are supposedly the best "scanning tool" available but it is only one of the many tools your doctor will use to monitor you after treatment. Physical exams are also important. Barry is in a study at Hopkins looking at blood/serum markers for HNC and maybe in the future this will also enter the tool chest.

Gail