Ok, so to answer your questions -
1. Yes, i had a PET scan about a month after they found the nodules on the CT. The conclusion for it was - "the largest pulmonary nodule seen on the recent CT is FDG avid (SUV 3.6) concerning for metastatic disease. The other smaller pulmonary nodules...did not demonstrate any associated FDG avidity but this may be due to their small size". So they did discuss with me the possibility that it could be other things, but they decided it was unlikely as there were no signs of anything on my initial staging scan in Feb 20. The PET scan was done Feb 21. they didn't want to biopsy because of the risks and they said surgery was a no-go because there were too many. I have thought it possible that maybe it wasn't cancer at all and wouldn't that be lovely, but put it down to wishful thinking. However, having a break from chemo might also give us a chance to see if anything else pops up anywhere, in the lungs or elsewhere.
2. All my CT scans have been chest/abdo/pelvis with contrast. I've only had one MRI at the staging scans.
3. I'm not sure about the slices of the hospital scanner but that was very good advice to go with the 128 slice scan if possible. I'm at a major cancer centre in Sydney and all my scans are done at the hospital but there are loads of radiology practices outside the hospital that I could go to so I will see what I can find for my next one.
4. Vaccinated yes with Pfizer. it was done in May/June so about six months after the nodules were found. I had a mild reaction to the second shot, a short-lived fever and a bit tired for a few days.
5. We weren't in Australia when the bush fires happened. We actually lived in Thailand, came back in Feb 20 to see my mum for a week and get my colonoscopy as my insurance in Thailand wouldn't cover it. Nearly two years later, still here and had to give up our home in Thailand.
In Thailand we didn't live in Bangkok and were in a quieter part of Phuket so I don't think pollution would be an issue either.
6. At first my doctors didn't think i had HFS, they just thought it was my neuropathy. But it was a very different kind of feeling than just the neuropathy, a burning pain and felt like i was walking on glass. It wasn't until I started getting a lot of redness did they acknowledge it might be HFS. So up until that point I was doing everything wrong. It was winter here so lots of hot showers, big woolly socks, going for long walks to keep my exercise up, vigorously rubbing my feet! Ha ha. But when it was decided it was HFS I basically stay off my feet as much as I can over the week it is bad. I use heavy emollients (gently rubbed in now!) and ice packs just from the fridge, so not frozen but just to cool things down. It's bearable if I don't stand on them for too long.
Thanks so much for all your thoughts, you are a wealth of information! It's given me a lot to consider and talk to my onc about on Wednesday.