Great news, but follow up question

Note that the comment from my oncologist was that without any evidence of active disease, insurance companies will only support scans every 6 months. If you have active disease, the frequency of scans can be higher. In my case, I will go back in 6 months and have a full body PET/CT and a brain MRI.

Kevin

Note that the comment from my oncologist was that without any evidence of active disease, insurance companies will only support scans every 6 months. If you have active disease, the frequency of scans can be higher. In my case, I will go back in 6 months and have a full body PET/CT and a brain MRI.

Kevin

Note that the comment from my oncologist was that without any evidence of active disease, insurance companies will only support scans every 6 months. If you have active disease, the frequency of scans can be higher. In my case, I will go back in 6 months and have a full body PET/CT and a brain MRI.

Kevin

Hey guys,

Congratulations on clear scans!  That's wonderful news.  I hate scans myself having had them every three months, if not more often, for many years!!! However, the generally accepted recommendation for scaning after a metastatic tumor, even when the patient is rendered NED after surgical removal, is every 3 months for at least one year.  Some folks pretty dear to me over the years decided they were just going to live their lives and not worry about scanning at all, and unfortunately were caught in things that had gone too far for treatment by the time they showed up.  It is all a bit of a crap shoot, and everyone has to make the best choices they can live with.  But, if this is just a question of insurance coverage….I think the every 3 month scanning schedule has been adopted as standard of care in this instance and your doctor can certainly petition for it if necessary.  Wishing you my best.  Celeste

Hey guys,

Congratulations on clear scans!  That's wonderful news.  I hate scans myself having had them every three months, if not more often, for many years!!! However, the generally accepted recommendation for scaning after a metastatic tumor, even when the patient is rendered NED after surgical removal, is every 3 months for at least one year.  Some folks pretty dear to me over the years decided they were just going to live their lives and not worry about scanning at all, and unfortunately were caught in things that had gone too far for treatment by the time they showed up.  It is all a bit of a crap shoot, and everyone has to make the best choices they can live with.  But, if this is just a question of insurance coverage….I think the every 3 month scanning schedule has been adopted as standard of care in this instance and your doctor can certainly petition for it if necessary.  Wishing you my best.  Celeste

Hey guys,

Congratulations on clear scans!  That's wonderful news.  I hate scans myself having had them every three months, if not more often, for many years!!! However, the generally accepted recommendation for scaning after a metastatic tumor, even when the patient is rendered NED after surgical removal, is every 3 months for at least one year.  Some folks pretty dear to me over the years decided they were just going to live their lives and not worry about scanning at all, and unfortunately were caught in things that had gone too far for treatment by the time they showed up.  It is all a bit of a crap shoot, and everyone has to make the best choices they can live with.  But, if this is just a question of insurance coverage….I think the every 3 month scanning schedule has been adopted as standard of care in this instance and your doctor can certainly petition for it if necessary.  Wishing you my best.  Celeste

That is such great and welcomed news!! YAY!!

If it were me, I would not want to wait six months.. but would think that three would be better. Would def try to fight for insurance approval. Otherwise, as the time draws closer, if there is any discomfort from the previous surgical procedure that could possibly be deemed as reason enough…just to verify. There is usually some level of aches and pains due to scar tissue/adhesions after such a surgery, and I find it hard to believe that the insurance company could deny one under those circumstances with his history. Just a thought.

Again, congrats on this good news! I am sure it has been a challenging couple of months!!

Tina

That is such great and welcomed news!! YAY!!

If it were me, I would not want to wait six months.. but would think that three would be better. Would def try to fight for insurance approval. Otherwise, as the time draws closer, if there is any discomfort from the previous surgical procedure that could possibly be deemed as reason enough…just to verify. There is usually some level of aches and pains due to scar tissue/adhesions after such a surgery, and I find it hard to believe that the insurance company could deny one under those circumstances with his history. Just a thought.

Again, congrats on this good news! I am sure it has been a challenging couple of months!!

Tina

That is such great and welcomed news!! YAY!!

If it were me, I would not want to wait six months.. but would think that three would be better. Would def try to fight for insurance approval. Otherwise, as the time draws closer, if there is any discomfort from the previous surgical procedure that could possibly be deemed as reason enough…just to verify. There is usually some level of aches and pains due to scar tissue/adhesions after such a surgery, and I find it hard to believe that the insurance company could deny one under those circumstances with his history. Just a thought.

Again, congrats on this good news! I am sure it has been a challenging couple of months!!

Tina

Here's some of what I posted on my blog today:

Within the three to 12 month range the guidelines allow, how do you decide how often to scan? You look at the extremes. The most frequent extreme would call for scans every week or two, but this would be too much because the change you see from one week to the next would be negligible. That means it would be too much exposure to radiation. One month doesn’t give enough time for something to change either. Could you do it every two months? Again, probably not; eight weeks isn’t that much time unless you’re looking at something very specific and want to know whether this particular spot has changed.

At the other extreme, is a year too long? Probably so, because if something is starting to grow you want to know about it sooner. Even nine months is “probably an uncomfortable period of time.” In our case, four to six months is the range Dr. Lipson is comfortable with.

Another factor is how closely the patient is being followed with skin and physical exams. Since Robert sees the dermatologist every three months for a thorough skin exam, including destruction and removal of suspicious spots and biopsies when appropriate, and sees Dr. Lipson every four months for physical exams, including lymph node palpation, a six-month schedule seems reasonable to him.

Then, the clinch factor is considered (at least by this doctor) – the patient’s comfort level. Since the national guidelines leave it pretty open, he said, “if … you’re really not comfortable with six months, then let’s do it every four months – that’s certainly within the guidelines. It’s an extra exposure to radiation every year, that’s all.”

I hope that helps …

Hazel

Here's some of what I posted on my blog today:

Within the three to 12 month range the guidelines allow, how do you decide how often to scan? You look at the extremes. The most frequent extreme would call for scans every week or two, but this would be too much because the change you see from one week to the next would be negligible. That means it would be too much exposure to radiation. One month doesn’t give enough time for something to change either. Could you do it every two months? Again, probably not; eight weeks isn’t that much time unless you’re looking at something very specific and want to know whether this particular spot has changed.

At the other extreme, is a year too long? Probably so, because if something is starting to grow you want to know about it sooner. Even nine months is “probably an uncomfortable period of time.” In our case, four to six months is the range Dr. Lipson is comfortable with.

Another factor is how closely the patient is being followed with skin and physical exams. Since Robert sees the dermatologist every three months for a thorough skin exam, including destruction and removal of suspicious spots and biopsies when appropriate, and sees Dr. Lipson every four months for physical exams, including lymph node palpation, a six-month schedule seems reasonable to him.

Then, the clinch factor is considered (at least by this doctor) – the patient’s comfort level. Since the national guidelines leave it pretty open, he said, “if … you’re really not comfortable with six months, then let’s do it every four months – that’s certainly within the guidelines. It’s an extra exposure to radiation every year, that’s all.”

I hope that helps …

Hazel

Here's some of what I posted on my blog today:

Within the three to 12 month range the guidelines allow, how do you decide how often to scan? You look at the extremes. The most frequent extreme would call for scans every week or two, but this would be too much because the change you see from one week to the next would be negligible. That means it would be too much exposure to radiation. One month doesn’t give enough time for something to change either. Could you do it every two months? Again, probably not; eight weeks isn’t that much time unless you’re looking at something very specific and want to know whether this particular spot has changed.

At the other extreme, is a year too long? Probably so, because if something is starting to grow you want to know about it sooner. Even nine months is “probably an uncomfortable period of time.” In our case, four to six months is the range Dr. Lipson is comfortable with.

Another factor is how closely the patient is being followed with skin and physical exams. Since Robert sees the dermatologist every three months for a thorough skin exam, including destruction and removal of suspicious spots and biopsies when appropriate, and sees Dr. Lipson every four months for physical exams, including lymph node palpation, a six-month schedule seems reasonable to him.

Then, the clinch factor is considered (at least by this doctor) – the patient’s comfort level. Since the national guidelines leave it pretty open, he said, “if … you’re really not comfortable with six months, then let’s do it every four months – that’s certainly within the guidelines. It’s an extra exposure to radiation every year, that’s all.”

I hope that helps …

Hazel