Guest guest Posted December 23, 2005 Report Share Posted December 23, 2005 A simple way of looking at CTs and PET scan is a CT is good for seeing if something is there. A CT can also approximate the dimensions and shape of the object which helps to determine if it is benign or not but often cannot differentiate between a malignant and a benign mass. In a PET they mix a sugar solution with F-18 (radioactive). The cancer cells, if any, are more active and retain the sugar solution and due to the F-18 shows up as a bright spot on a scan. Neither the CT or PET are 100% accurate or specific. When malignant tumors reach 1 cm or more there is a 90% probability of being detected by a scan. For objects 5 mm and smaller the detection rate is low. PET scans cost a lot more than CT and both CTs and PETs have a detrimental effect on the body so you want to have enough but not too many. Try to save your PETs for when you really need them. What you need to do first is ask a few questions. Has there been an increase in size of the nodes seen on both CTs. If the increase is greater than a few mm or the new node was larger than 5 mm I would want to follow up with a PET. If there are changes I would not want to wait more than 3 weeks for a PET. Three weeks gives it time to grow but does not drag out the process. Benign things do happen. This summer I had an 18 mm enlarged lymph node. Lymph nodes of this size and in the area it was are malignant 95% of the time. Three weeks later I had an enhanced CT and the enlarged lymph could not be seen. Even if you are lucky enough to be cured there are going to be a few scares along the way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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