Postby crikklekay » Fri Jun 08, 2018 9:08 am
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!
Caring for DH John
Stage IIIC, Lymph nodes: 6/22
Chemo: FOLFOX (6)
12/17 ER and emergency surgery
02/18 Hospital w/MSSA infected port, PICC line inserted, chest CT scan showed septic emboli & blood clots
03/18 Hospital w/CDIFF
08/18 CT Scan Clear, NEMD
2018/2019/2021 Colonoscopy Clear
2019/2020/2021/2022 CT Scan Clear
2021 PET scan & MRI show one spot on liver
08/21 Liver surgery to remove spot, confirmed mCRC. Now Stage IV
09/21 Start Folfiri + Avastin
03/22 CEA Rise, continuing chemo