Connect
← Return to Living with lung cancer - Introduce yourself & come say hi
Discussion
Living with lung cancer - Introduce yourself & come say hi
Lung Cancer | Last Active: Apr 22 8:17pm | Replies (1154)Comment receiving replies
I believe I’m a new member of the club. I’m 66 and have smoked for 50 of them. I had a PET/CT scan yesterday and although I don’t really understand the report I think I get the gist of it. My poor primary must have thought I had already spoken with my pulmonologist and said “good luck” when he answered an unrelated Emailed question. It’s odd but after I spoke with the pulmonologist I could barely remember the conversation. I guess I was thinking ahead and not really focusing. I haven’t tried to decipher the CT but I don’t think I can resist. I don’t even really know what the story is but I don’t want to take the Google route for information quite yet. On one hand I do wish the doctor had dumbed it down a bit but on the other hand I don’t want to know. Does a PET/CT scan even provide enough information by itself to make a determination? I’ve got two good friends fighting the good fight so I’m a little ashamed that I’m thinking of me. Free venting and babbling. I appreciate it.
Replies to "I believe I’m a new member of the club. I’m 66 and have smoked for 50..."
Welcome @fiddlershere, I think it's fairly common to forget that first conversation with the doctor. Your doctor knows this, and won't be offended if you are honest, and ask that they repeat the conversation. It can be helpful to have a trusted friend/family member with you in person or even on the phone. Focusing on yourself is needed right now, your friends have been through similar situations and would certainly understand.
The scan is telling the pulmonologist that there is something that we should look into further. It's not a confirmation of cancer. PET/CTs can show areas that don't look quite right. Those areas may be inflammation, infection, fungus, cancer, many things. Depending on the size and the level of brightness on the PET scan, they may want to get a sample that can be analyzed by a pathology lab.
Did they setup additional appointments for you? What are the next steps?
More information on PET scans:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/pet-scan/about/pac-20385078
@fiddlershere For the PET scan, they inject you with a glucose (sugar) solution. You wait and let it travel through your system for about an hour. Then they put you in a scanner. The "hot spots" are where the most glucose is being used. Cancer cells divide rapidly and use a lot of glucose for the process. Scar tissue and infection can also use up more glucose.
Connect
@fiddlershere New here also and no expert but what I have read is the PET scan shows hot spots - those hot spots can be cancer but can also be scar tissue or infection or other things. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable helps me out if that is not correct but it's what I learned as I am going through the same process.