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← Return to PET scan verses CT scan?
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Pancreatic Cancer | Last Active: Feb 9 12:24pm | Replies (11)
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gamaryanne,
In another post cpill noted there was a CT scan during initial diagnosis ... she did not mention whether a tumor sample was obtained prior ... based on the CT arterial involvement should have been apparent, right?
Replies to "gamaryanne, In another post cpill noted there was a CT scan during initial diagnosis ... she..."
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You would think so. I asked for (and received) an MRI one week before my Whipple just to make sure the surgeon had the latest & greatest data available (confirm no mets and no arterial involvement). Last prior imaging was 2 months old by then.
It's another one of those things that probably wouldn't have happened if I hadn't asked.
Even then, the surgeon did an exploratory laparoscopy before opening me up for the full Whipple. Some surgeons actually schedule an exploratory laparoscopy shortly before the Whipple date. It seems unnecessary (to me) to put the patient under general anesthesia twice, but maybe it shortens the actual Whipple or avoids booking and staffing an operating room for 8 hours when there's a high chance of it being cut short (and resources going to waste).
But either way, you'd think they have a really good idea before going in if roadblocks like inoperable arteries are involved. Lesson learned -- ask questions!