I am putting a new name to the definietion of abnormal and one who dais not follow any textbooks. I even have my Doctors stumped on this one. I got a phone call at school that there was uptake on my tongue. I am thinkingthe uptake was at the back of my tongue. Well my RO calls after I get the call from my ENT and headed down there to see him so he can take a look. He came in the office just to see me. Love my ENT. I begin telling my RO about the pain, not knowing he talking of a different area than I am. When I ge tto my ENT's office he showed me the PET scan and te front of my tongue was lit up like lead balloon. He said that if it is lit up that much there should be something there. The CT part of the scan did not pick up anything. He did not feel or see anything in that area either. However, I was telling him about the pain at the bck right of my tongue. He poked and prodded, and then decided to shcedule an MRI to get another look and see if the MRI shows anything. So shall I be worried for the simple fact that this morning I noticed a white spot on my tongue that was not there yesterday morning. My ENT said it look like scar tissue, but since it was not there yesterdy it is bothersome. Hence the MRI next week sometime. Anyway, I am still on pins and needles because something is different in m mouth than it was a week ago, but the PET showed a different area. How crazy is that?

Geez Angelia, will it ever stop? It's a wonder we don't end up having heart attacks waiting for definite results and solutions. I know you're worried, but your ENT is encouraging, and I know things "light up" that aren't cancer - think you've had that before, haven't you? Anyway, you're in my thoughts and I definitely will be praying for you to get a good, clear, non-cancer diagnosis.
julieann

I have never had a PET scan light up before. Well, except that time two weeks after surgery, and that was due to the surgery.

PET scan is a non specific indicator of increased metabolic activity of any cause. It is elevated in several conditions such as inflammation, increased activity of muscle and malignancy but can not specifically differentiate between them. If there is nothing there on CT or MRI it may not be cancer. I would not panic and wait for your ENT expert to investigate it or continue to observe it.
I had false alarms myself with PET scans as they are often misleading.

I Brook MD http://dribrook.blogspot.com/

Relax! PET scans are known to give false positives. Its happened to me twice. Dont get yourself all worked up over this. You dont know what is going on yet so its best to try and stay busy. Getting upset wont help you at all. It could be scar tissue or an inflamation. If the sore just appeared then it could be anything, if its still there in 2 weeks then it needs to get checked out. Hopefully, everything will get sorted out very soon. Sending lots of prayers your way.

Angelia

My doctors don't even suggest a PETscan anymore due to the false positives and negatives they have seen with mine. At least for base of tongue cancers, I've seen figures of 50% error rates .
Why, because a PetScan cannot differentiate between your tongue healing itself at a rapid rate or a cancer tumor. Worse, it can give you false assurance that all is well and miss the slower sugar uptake of the tiny tumor recurring. All of that has happened to me. The CT and MRI have always been accurate though. If your MRI is clear, it's unlikely your cancer is back.
Charm

Thanks guys. All I know is that I have not eaten any solid food since Wednesday because it hurts to bad. I know the Drs are looking for a tumor that is sticking out this thing is caving in or something likethat. It is like there is an indention and them a white area about a CM long. I called my MO and asked if he had received the PET results. They had not received them yet, so I told the nurse what was going on and I am going to see himon Monday. If he thinks there is a concern it will be taken care of. I know my MO will not waste anytime. He does not fool around with this stuff. I did hoever take a picture of this thing, but when I looked at it was kind of blurry, but you could still see it. I am just tired of not knowing and of Drs telling me that I do not follow their textbooks.
As to the CT scan, I do not trust those becaause it did not pick my first cancer at all.

Angelia -
Praying for a good outcome.
Marlene

Angelia, my thoughts too are with you. Let's hope this is just the oversensitivity of the PET. Hang in there!
D2

I do not know if I can do this again. The pain has gotten to the point that I can barely eat mashed potatoes and gravy. It hurts just to move my tongue. I do not want to go through this again, especially at Christmas time. Just needed to vent.