: CT scan

[Guest guest]

Hi !

Thanks for the update. I'm sorry about the pain that hit you in the

shop. I know what you mean about the unpredictability of CP. It's so

hard to control it because things that cause probs one day don't the

next, and vice versa of course. I hope that things will be OK this

week and that you'll enjoy Christmas and have many pain-free

moments to treasure.

My gastro was surprised and not pleased that another CT scan had

been ordered for me by the other doc. He is extremely cautious and

sees one CT scan a year as too much in a " young " woman like me

(57!!) because I could build up too much radiation in time. The

pancreatologist has said that I CAN have a CT every 12 months

(though this time it was only 9) but no more frequently. The gastro

considers that too frequent. My gastro is very cautious about

everything. There are four screening tests for cancer, but none of

them is reliable : CT scan (or MRI), EUS, ERCP and blood test

(tumour marker test). Because they are not reliable, it is advised

to have them all as frequently as medical protocol in your hospital

admits. My gastro definitely doesn't believe in frequent ERCPs

because he thinks they cause more harm than good in the end. He sees

the CT scan as something to be used very rarely because of the

radiation exposure. The blood test is fine. Mine was normal, but,

again, it's not totally reliable. The EUS would be OK. My

pancreatologist hasn't mentioned the EUS or ERCP yet. However, he

had given me a January date for the TP anyway. Because I have had

hardly any pain for nearly three months now (can't understand why) I

am thinking of waiting a bit longer. I felt more sure a few months

ago when I was in bad pain. I want to get rid of the very high

cancer risk but it would seem strange to go for such major surgey

when feeling OK.

As I said to the gastro and he agreed,

" This is not a decision that a human being can make! "

For anyone that's interested, the PAI link " What's coming down the

duct? " has reports on a symposium in Chicago this November on

inherited pancreatic diseases. My geneticist spoke at it and my panc

doc was there also. There is also a kind of international consensus

document on screening HP patients for panc cancer. Again, my panc

doc and geneticist are among the very many names who contributed to

this. At least I know they know what they are talking about! I gave

a copy to my gastro. He took it with great interest but does already

know, of course, about all the tests as he is the one who carries

them out!

Happy Christmas, Chrissie, and take care.

Fliss