Just wondering how often you or your loved ones are having CT's done. My dad's doctor (abroad) is advising against..stating chemo can affect the image(S) and give inaccurate info. She says she just wants to draw CEA every 2-3 months and check chemistry (liver function, etc). They have also not done a PET.

He did have a CT prior to surgery and after surgery right before beginning chemo 3 months ago.

Thank you in advance!

By the way he's doing well. Counts were up from last treatment cycle. Is just finishing 8 of 12 FOLFOX. Slight increase in neuropathy but nothing unmanageable.

He did have a CT prior to surgery and after surgery right before beginning chemo 3 months ago.


that is the way it went for me too. No one has suggested another CAT scan since and that was 3 years ago now. However the CT scan suite at the local hospital has only recently been installed. Prior to that the nearest one was 125 miles west.

I didn't see a board for G.I.S.T. (gastrointestinal stromal tumors ) Is this the right place to see if I can get in touch with someone who has or has had this kind of cancer?

hI THERE

The docs here in the UK dont like to give too many........ cost :rolleyes: being one reason and the other is that too many exposures can lead to ill health especially if you are taking chemo where your immune system takes a knock.

My husband had one prior to bowel resection, one after 3 months chemo to check progess on liver mets, one after liver resection to check for leaks :eek: , one as a "base line" post treatment. They will be doing him again next March and after that once a year.

I think he also had a couple of other ones done but this was related to problems after the liver surgery........ but then he always did like having his photo taken :jester:

Hope this helps
ktee

I don't have much faith in CT scans after my husband had one and two nodules showed up on the liver...had a have a PET scan to find out that they were not malignant. A PET scan costs alot more than a CT scan. I am also hearing that liver function tests can give clues as to whether mets have occurred in the liver but I am not sure how true that is.

I don't have much faith in CT scans after my husband had one and two nodules showed up on the liver...had a have a PET scan to find out that they were not malignant. A PET scan costs alot more than a CT scan. I am also hearing that liver function tests can give clues as to whether mets have occurred in the liver but I am not sure how true that is.

Hi Alison
As you know husband originally diag with mets to liver and was inoperable. The chemo shrunk the tumors but when the liver surgeon finally operated he found more tumors than had shown up on the ct scan. So it is not foolproof. As I understand it, the liver function tests are indicators a bit like the CEAs. So for some people with mets to liver the function tests do not show up anything significant. Our liver surgeon does use the function tests but also looks at CT scans and also ultrasound scans. However, he is so fussy that he will only let one person carry out the scan and help him interprete what he sees.
Another thing that the inexperienced docs don't like about the scans is where they are taken after a resection and where the scar tissue and such like can cause confusion. It is therefore vital that if anybody does have a scan that (a) it is taken by an experienced technician and (b) that it is interpreted by an equally experienced professional. That is a tall order for some hospitals but its a question that is worth asking.

Regards
ktee


p.s. to pgta........... good news about your father...... only 4 more treatments to go........ i bet he can't wait to wave goodbye :wave: to the meds.

Good points, Ktee....I guess it shows that all the diagnostic tools are best used in conjunction with each other.