So the pet scan results won't come back for a few days, 2 to 4 days probably. A radiologist has to go through the results and then it also gets read by special software. They use a special dye containing radioactive sugar FDG and it depends on how quickly that sugar binds to the area of cancer or infection because cancer cells or an infection consume more energy than healthy cells or non-infected cells so it makes them light up. The more they light up and the brighter they light up the more damaged the cells are. When the results are in, they will schedule an appointment with you and go over the results. And yes they will show you the PET scan. My doctor pulled it off right on his computer and we're showing me the areas of your body that light up automatically, like your head. Don't be alarmed if you see your head lit up, it's the major organs that they're really going to be focusing on. And for you, you're lungs. On my PET scan I could see the area of my lung that was lit up and the area of my pelvis that was lit up, both were bright but there was more intensity to the one that was in my pelvis because that one was cancer. It was really subtle though. . And that's why they use a computer to analyze the results of the pet scan because it's not only that something is bright. It is how quickly those cells uptake the FDG that really matters. Cancer will have a much with it at a higher uptake than an infection.

I think it's strange that that nodule is nowhere near where the lung collapsed. They didn't say they saw anything where that lung collapsed? They don't like to see a lot either until they have something they can tell you. And they certainly don't like speculate.

I'm really hoping that it's going to turn out to be something that is not that serious. But even if it's serious, let's say it's the worst case scenario..
Please know that there is so much they can do now that it is honestly amazing!!!

I just had a CT scan about 10 days ago and actually it showed the infection has completely cleared which is really surprising because I haven't been on the antibiotics for that many months. These lung infections like I have are very rare and hard to get rid of. I have to take antibiotics everyday, strong antibiotics and I also use a nebulizer with antibiotics in it. I won't know what that all means until I see my infectious disease doctor next month. But things have gotten far better from me since they were last January. And they will for you too!! All this stuff takes time. Even when they find out what this is, every step they do takes time, and it's traumatizing and hard emotionally. But you can always turn to people here, you can always get support and ask questions. I can't tell you how much being on the site helped me!!!

I hope you're feeling a little bit more hopeful today and trying that to worry too much. Whatever is going on in your body has been there so now it's just a matter of letting the doctors figure out what it is, and then fixing it. It's just one day at a time so be gentle to yourself!

Angela

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