The Colon Club

Over a month ago i was diagnosed with stage 4 that had gone to my liver. I had a ct scan and biopsy to determine this. I have been anxiously awaiting the Pet which is this saturday and wont see the dr for results until a week later. Would my abdominal ct scan have shown my lungs? Im so terrified its further than my liver. Any experience, advice or words to calm me? Ive always suffered anxiety but anxiety and cancer are so much to handle.

My CT scan always includes both abdomen and chest, so I thought that was pretty standard. The hospital sends me a form with the appointment date and shows chest and abdomen checked off. Why don't you call your dr's office tomorrow and ask them if both were included?

I can understand the anxiety - are you taking anything for it? I usually take an Ativan before going to get my results. It also helped get me through chemo and sleepless nights.

Best wishes to you

Thank yiu for respinding. I went into the ER with lower stomach pain and thats where they did the ct. Thatz the reasin im not sure if they inckuded my lungs.Ativan before appts is a great suggestion. Thank you

Trying wrote:Over a month ago i was diagnosed with stage 4 that had gone to my liver. I had a ct scan and biopsy to determine this. I have been anxiously awaiting the Pet which is this saturday and wont see the dr for results until a week later. Would my abdominal ct scan have shown my lungs? Im so terrified its further than my liver. Any experience, advice or words to calm me? Ive always suffered anxiety but anxiety and cancer are so much to handle.

You are in charge of your medical records. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You have a right to see your CT scans and have the doctor explain them to you. You should also be able to request a copy on CD of the CT scan and look over it yourself on a PC. I know that most people don't have experience doing this, but you can ask your doctor to teach you; if he won't, fire him. You can handle this... take control. Demand that your medical professionals do their job of keeping you informed and read everything you can here to teach yourself. You got this.

When my husband went to the ER they only did a CT scan of his abdomen which did not include the lungs, but he was complaining of gut problems so they didn't really need to do a chest scan. But once they did the colonoscopy in the hospital and realized he had cancer the Oncologist we were provided ordered a chest CT to make sure it hadn't spread anywhere else. When we ended up BACK in the hospital due to a staph infection they did another abdominal CT to see if there were any pockets of infection around his surgery site and at the very tippy top of the scan they could see the bottom of his lungs and that's how they spotted his PEs, so a full chest CT scan was ordered.

If it was JUST an abdominal scan it most likely only shows the bottom portion of the lungs, at least in my experience. He has always had either an abdominal or a chest CT, I'm not sure if they can do one big CT of the whole center section of your body? But the protocols at our hospital could be different from yours. Like DH2Sleen says, call and ask for a copy of the report or even just call and ask what portion of the body your CT scan covered and then you'll know for sure. I definitely understand your anxiety, so I would call your Oncologist with your questions and concerns for a little peace of mind. Good luck!

The CT that I had after diagnosis covered the liver and lungs (I read through the pathology report). I think that one of the MRIs that I had done did this as well.

I understand the anxiety. Every time I have a coughing spell, I worry about spread. I had this this morning when waking up but I'm pretty sure that it was just seasonal allergies. It's tough waiting for test results.

when my Wife had her first Colonoscopy, they found the cancerous tumor in Sigmoid Colon. Our GI Dr. ordered an abdominal CT scan. Most abdominal CT scans catch the lower portion of your lungs, hence that's where they found some nodules. Also, I just had an abdominal CT scans last week for some urine flow probs, surer that all heck, My scan also caught the lower portion of my lungs. In addition, my Wife had a slight irritable cough for 2 years prior to her Dx. On Chemo - the cough goes away. But when she takes a chemo break, the cough slightly re-appears.

Thanks everyone

Hey homie !
just FYI ... I had a lung met and had NO signs of it until I did a routine chest xray NOT CT or PET or MRI
and my radiologist noted a " WTF ????? is THAT ! "

read my bio .. have had LOTS of imaging, BUTT a CT of abdomen will only pick up the lowest part of the chest

When my abdominal CT missed my chest met that the xray picked up ...
I changed doctors
changed cancer centers
AND I WAS A FULL ON in yo' face MoFo asshole about getting C-A-P CT scans ( chest-abdomen-pelvis ) because I had a low rectosigmoid primary
AND they usually met to the lungs and have a higher level of recurrence.

MESSAGE :
I took control of WHO was doing WHAT about my own personal situation.

You may need to as well

NOT sayin' you have lung issues ...... BUTT
if none of the docs are LOOKING ... how the hell will they even know ??????

YOU are in charge of your own medical destiny

KEEP pushin' sista' until YOU get answers YOU need to know that you are doin' OK

AND keep on keepin' ON
HERE .. 'cos we gotchur back

Cheers and Harmony on the Journey
PM me or post anytime
CRguy

Thanks!

Liver , lungs and skin are the organs to which body sends whatever it perceived to be harmful or toxic.
That's why most of the mets start with liver and lungs.