The Colon Club

My mother has ended chemo and everything. She is supposed to be clear for now... and she will have some tests every now and then (i don't know exactly) so as to check.
Her onc told us that is not necessary for her to do Pet Scan.
For now he said to have MRI again on liver (she had done before 4 months i think and it was clear) and blood test for CEA and a chest x-ray .
What do you think?
I see that everybody here does PET no matter the stage, before and after chemo.. He is supposed to be a very good oncologist here in Athens.
I am confused...

Hello,
My Onc only does CT's. Wishing your mom a good report. Art

I don't know why you think everyone here has PET scans.

I had my first PET/CT 38 months after dx when a CT showed a spot on my liver. Since I'm now allergic to CT dye, I have PET scans as a follow up after my liver resection.

X-rays and MRI's seem odd. CT scans are the norm.

The oncologist we saw at the NCI hospital last week seemed to prefer CT with contrast over PET scans...

We had a CT scan before surgery and will have one In a few months to check things.

Best to you.

I have PET and CT scans every 2 months. They switch back and forth every two months. So this time around I'll have a PET, last time I had a CT. The only MRI I had was on the brain to rules out brain mets.

Angie

My husband has not had a pet scan since the initial one prior to treatment. He has CTs, which we are slowly stretching out.
He has one of the favorite oncologists from this board, who would definitely advise one if he thought it necessary.

I am really really new at all this but my husband has not had a PET scan either since his DX but I am wondering if his oncologist will do one soon. I am curious about this too, I mean, if they are necessary or not.

Sometimes the decision to do a PET or CT is solely based on Insurance, since a PET is more expensive than a CT. In the past, if my CT showed something, then the next step was a PET. I'm currently in active treatment, so now I have a combo of PET/CT in one scan, and the insurance company never denies the test.

No imaging test is perfect. Each have their strengths and weaknesses. PET's strength is that it gives an idea of the metabolism of things that they are looking at. The downside is that they have the least resolution of all the scans, and they're the most expensive. CT scans offer some of the best resolution through-out the body although they struggle to view things in the abdomen (like the intestines and especially the spaces in between) since that stuff is movign all the time. They are also not good when someone for whateer reason can't have IV iodine contrast. MRI are the least invasive test, provide good resolution (somewhere in between PET and CT depending on the structures) and don't bombard the patient with radiation.

No test is "better" than another by it's very nature, and they all have their specific uses for specific individual patients. My initial reaction to an MRI of the liver-only (if that is what exactly is being proposed) following chemotherapy is that it's a little limited. Followup imaging is usually chest/abdomen/pelvis, regardless of the "mode" of scan chosen. Liver-only is a little limited as recurrences for CRC are possible in many areas. True it's most likely in liver/lungs, but lymph nodes, abdominal, and bone mets are all possible.

Why not bring up your concerns with your mom's onc, and find out why he/she prefers MRI vs the other scan modalities. I would hope he/she has a good answer

My onc has me do Pet/CT combos every 6 months, blood labs every 3 months. I've had this schedule for 5 years now, i'm glad he orders these.

I have never had a PET scan, only CT scans which are done annually., May 2009, June 2010, June 2011 and June 2012. My onc and surgeon have only thought it necessary to do them annually. Since my chemo finished I have my CEA and other blood tests every 3 months.

Our onc recommended PET scan vs CT..he explained: "cancer has a sweet tooth..so we infuse a high sugar solution and it all lights up (well hopefully not ..." and yes here it seems that CT scans are cheaper..also some facilities don't even have PET scan equipment...so i'd say try the PET scan better be 100% sure..hope it brings great results!

My onc typically prescribes CT scans, but after my first two CT showed suspicious things in the lung that resulted in getting a PET/CT both times, he's just gone straight to the PET/CT for the rest of my scans. He orders PET since they are my baseline scan post treatment and used for comparison purposes. We'll keep with PET until the insurance stops approving, then we'll go by to CT.

If the onc order MRI pre-treatment- they may want to keep with the same type of scan so that they can compare any changes.

I've had a few cts, ultra sound and a MRI when my one liver met was suspected. I've never had a pet scan. My understanding is that a ct scan is probably the most effective scan as pet scans can pick up on things that may look like cancer but are not. However, I will say that I am located in Ontario Canada and that pet scans are pretty rare. I'm not sure if it is a cost or availability issue.

Carmen

Since finishing chemo, I have only had bloodwork and CT scans - no PET scans. Bloodwork every three months and CT scan every six months.
Mary Ann