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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Cancer / May 2004PET Scan
I have been told that I should have the PET scan within the next few months. Can anyone advise if procedure is better than the CT scan that I have been having? thanks Paul > I have been told that I should have the PET scan within the next few months. > Can anyone advise if procedure is better than the CT scan that I have been > having? thanks > Paul Hello Paul, I'm sorry I didn't reply to your post about swollen ankles. At first I couldn't remember what type of cancer you have and what treatments, then I got offtrack and forgot to go back to your post. It's thyroid lymphoma ? 4+ months of cytoxan, adriamycin & vincristine, also prednisone, allopruinol & anzemet. Then injection of neulastra & then infusion of rituxan. ? Have you had the 15 radiation zaps yet? or is this what the imaging is intended for? Or are they wanting to check for lymph nodes? (sorry about the questions, but it will help Steph) Here it says http://radiology.rsnajnls.org/cgi/content/abstract/171/2/439 Primary thyroid lymphoma: comparison of CT and US assessment "US and CT were equally sensitive in detection of superficial lymphomatous nodes (seven of 16 cases). CT was superior to US in the definition of tumor extent in two patients with intrathoracic tumor extension and in one with laryngeal invasion. In patients with suspected thyroid lymphoma, CT should be the primary radiologic technique used for diagnosis and staging; US will be useful in local follow-up. " So if you could please answer the questions, then wait for Steph. Thank you, J > > I have been told that I should have the PET scan within the next few months. > > Can anyone advise if procedure is better than the CT scan that I have been [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > J > Yes it was thyroid lymphoma, completed 6 chemo treatments with those nasty meds + more last Dec 6 then completed 22 radiation treatments Feb 27, burned throat, lost voice, swollen ankles, no energy still to this day..... Doctors are looking to confirm the CT report that the tumor has disappeared. Thanks for the concern, Paul > Yes it was thyroid lymphoma, completed 6 chemo treatments with those nasty > meds + more last Dec 6 [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > Thanks for the concern, > Paul How are you Paul ? Thinking of you.. J > > Yes it was thyroid lymphoma, completed 6 chemo treatments with those nasty > > meds + more last Dec 6 [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > J > Hi, still no energy even with Ensure,Boost and Iron supplement. Have to take the stairs one step as I go up/down. Chest pains, back pains, pain in triceps, can't tell if the bypass is acting up, chemo still working me or the attack of shingles in the shoulder blades. Seems like it all wants to knock me down at once. Ain't no way that will happen! Wife has gotten an all clear and is doing fine, we are in our mid seventies and try to make each other laugh at least once each day, coming up on our 45th anniversary next month. No PET scan as yet. Thanks for asking how its going Paul You should try a drug called Promobolan it might help you feel stronger. Just a suggestion... > > Hi, still no energy even with Ensure,Boost and Iron supplement. Have to > take the stairs one step as I go up/down. Chest pains, back pains, pain in [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Thanks for asking how its going > Paul > > > Yes it was thyroid lymphoma, completed 6 chemo treatments with those > nasty [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > Thanks for asking how its going > Paul Hello Paul, thanks for your reply. I feel so badly that you are going through these troubles. I see that PET can scan for cancer issues and also cardiac issues (here) http://www.petscan.org/ And I feel badly for something I just posted about PET (but it was hopefully in a different context of Cdn healthcare and government finances which covers such). And I feel badly that I did not post earlier something that might helped with radiation therapy but the Charter does not allow me to do so (I think). And in any event, I only noted it in a book this past week so it wouldn't have helped through your radiation treatments (which were earlier this year). I wish my computer mouse was magic so I could wave it over your post and help you feel much better soon. I so wish you healing and a wonderful Anniversary day next month. Congratulations to you and your wife ! Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing. I care. J PET scan will demonstrate areas of increased cellular activity. CT will show structural abnormalities, and some tumors. It depends on what you are looking for. Larry > I have been told that I should have the PET scan within the next few months. > Can anyone advise if procedure is better than the CT scan that I have been > having? thanks > Paul >I have been told that I should have the PET scan within the next few months. >Can anyone advise if procedure is better than the CT scan that I have been >having? thanks >Paul a CT scan is a measurement of tissue density, a PET scan is measurement of metabolic rate in the tissue. Very different measurements. It is a very different scan, so a comparision is apples versus oranges. For a PET scan you receive a radioactive tracer, as the unstable element decays, it emits a positron, which will combine with an electron to produce a pair of 500Kev photon (X-rays), which the PET scanner picks up. Basically the more metagolic activity, the more the trace element concentrates, and the more positrons produced. >I have been told that I should have the PET scan within the next few months. >Can anyone advise if procedure is better than the CT scan that I have been >having? thanks >Paul Two different tools. Rather than which is better, look at it like this - it's like having two opinions from two experts, each using their own skill sets to take a different approach at your diagnosis. When your oncologist takes the results of each, he can then make a better assesment of what's going on. The concept has even been advanced to scanners that now can do both a CT and a PET scan at once, resulting in a hybrid image. Seriously cool technology if you ask me! -- "Even as a survivor I'm still fighting cancer!" Larry @ www.gotCancer.org > The concept has even been advanced to scanners that now can do both a > CT and a PET scan at once, resulting in a hybrid image. > > Seriously cool technology if you ask me! And what is that piece of machinery called or named? >> The concept has even been advanced to scanners that now can do both a >> CT and a PET scan at once, resulting in a hybrid image. >> >> Seriously cool technology if you ask me! > >And what is that piece of machinery called or named? GE's Discovery line of scanners is where I first saw the combined CT/PET scanner. http://www.gehealthcare.com/rad/nm_pet/products/pet_sys/petct1.html This type of advance is something that I can really appreciate. While it might not seem like a major medical advance, as both CT and PET already exist, it still can make for a nice product. My real job includes computer integration and automation - tying systems together and removing manual tasks. Typically, that means the people using these systems can spend less time on gathering and processing data and more time on making the necessary decisions on that data. Often times, integration can lead to new ways of looking at data, and seeing things that were not so obvious before. That's why I like the potential of the new hybrid style equipment. I want it to make oncologists even better at their jobs of detecting and killing cancer! :-) If you like more of that kinda thing, there's the Hi-Art Tomotherapy system. It's made by a company that a couple of guys started, continuing a junked project that GE deemed to not be a money maker. (read more in the April 2004 Fortune Small Business magazine) The Hi-Art is like a CT scanner combined with a linear accelerator. The general idea is to give even more precise radiation therapy treatments. That should make for less side effects for the patient. http://www.tomotherapy.com/intro/index.html Other companies are now bringing similar systems to market as well, including Varian, who I think is the "big dog" in the radiotherapy field. I think that this doesn't necessarily mean that the older equipment is not so useful anymore. It's likely that this is just another tool to use, and it may not be as useful in all situations, as the older equipment is. You know, a cordless screwdriver is nice, but sometimes the old faithful manual drive screwdriver is the better tool for the job! Note that I'm not a medical professional - just a bit of a technogeek! I'd imagine that Steph, who is a medical professional, can probably tell you more about this sort of stuff than I can even imagine. -- "Even as a survivor I'm still fighting cancer!" Larry @ www.gotCancer.org > >> The concept has even been advanced to scanners that now can do both a > >> CT and a PET scan at once, resulting in a hybrid image. [quoted text clipped - 45 lines] > I'd imagine that Steph, who is a medical professional, can probably > tell you more about this sort of stuff than I can even imagine. I can't add much more Larry. Except to say that oncologists love this high tech stuff................ but it doesn't revolutionise outcomes, unfortunately I've heard the technique referred to as "fusion scan", whether it's done with an all-in-one machine or by using 2 machines (PET & CT) and software to combine the results. Yeah, seriously cool! bj > > The concept has even been advanced to scanners that now can do both a > > CT and a PET scan at once, resulting in a hybrid image. > > > > Seriously cool technology if you ask me! > > And what is that piece of machinery called or named? |
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