#27290 03-30-2005 04:33 PM | Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 207 Platinum Member (200+ posts) |  Platinum Member (200+ posts)
Joined: Dec 2003 Posts: 207 | 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.
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#27291 03-31-2005 06:01 AM | Joined: Sep 2002 Posts: 642 "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts) | | OP "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts)
Joined: Sep 2002 Posts: 642 | Friends,
I am lucky enough to have a first cousin here in Houston who is an eminent radiologist who recently retired from one of our best hospitals and opened imaging clinics. I sent him my latest reports from MDACC and he told me that I absolutely need to have a PET scan and he is scheduling me for one ASAP. He says that he views PET scans as essential in head and neck cases,thinks that we should have them every few months, doesn't have a problem with false positives and does not understand why they are not widely used at MD Anderson.
I am excited about using this diagnostic tool and not having to wait 3 months.
Thanks for all of your support and best wishes to everyone.
Danny G.
Stage IV Base of Tongue SCC
Diagnosed July 1, 2002, chemo and radiation treatments completed beginning of Sept/02.
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#27292 03-31-2005 03:36 PM | Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 4,912 Likes: 52 OCF Founder Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts) | | OCF Founder Patient Advocate (old timer, 2000 posts)
Joined: Mar 2002 Posts: 4,912 Likes: 52 | Danny, if you can get a PET/CT fusion...it is much more diagnostic. The combination of the data from the CT overlaid on the PET helps separate and define the importantPET findings from the ones that are lesser so.
Brian, stage 4 oral cancer survivor. OCF Founder and Director. The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.
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#27293 04-01-2005 02:24 PM | Joined: Sep 2002 Posts: 642 "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts) | | OP "Above & Beyond" Member (500+ posts)
Joined: Sep 2002 Posts: 642 | Today I heard from my surgeon's P.A. regarding my having the PET scan next Monday. My docs at MDACC have no objection to me having the PET scan but their position is that PET scans are not an effective tool in diagnosing recurrences of head and neck cancer.
Heck, I don't know who is right but I am darn sure having the PET scan done and happy that I am doing something pro-active and immediate.
Danny G.
Stage IV Base of Tongue SCC
Diagnosed July 1, 2002, chemo and radiation treatments completed beginning of Sept/02.
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#27294 04-01-2005 04:14 PM | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 218 Gold Member (200+ posts) | | Gold Member (200+ posts)
Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 218 | There are several articles in the news section of the OCF site that shed some light on this. One is a comparison of MRI, PET and CT scans, see http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/news/story.asp?newsId=671 and the other, a description of the combined PET/CT scan http://www.oralcancerfoundation.org/news/story.asp?newsId=504 and its potential value. It appears to me that there are not enough data yet for the oncological community to recommend a specific protocol but early returns make the PET/CT combo the imaging technique of choice. - Sheldon
Dx 1/29/04, SCC, T2N0M0
Tx 2/12/04 Surgery, 4/15/04 66 Gy. radiation (36 sessions)
Dx 3/15/2016, SCC, pT1NX
Tx 3/29/16 Surgery
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