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- This topic has 15 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 1 month ago by Lauri England.
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- February 3, 2013 at 12:19 pm
I had another PET scan done on January 25, 2013 and a spot on my left rib cage 3 rib down from top lit up on the scan. It was not there on the previous scan from April 2012. They asked if I had some kind of rib injury since last April and I have not at all. The doctor said it could be a bone fracture and he wants to do check xrays. He said if it is a fracture it will show up on the xray, but if it is something else he is talking about a bone biopsy. I am scared to death.
I had another PET scan done on January 25, 2013 and a spot on my left rib cage 3 rib down from top lit up on the scan. It was not there on the previous scan from April 2012. They asked if I had some kind of rib injury since last April and I have not at all. The doctor said it could be a bone fracture and he wants to do check xrays. He said if it is a fracture it will show up on the xray, but if it is something else he is talking about a bone biopsy. I am scared to death. I know I did not hurt my ribs by any accident or injury so I know that is not what it is. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I have not visited in a while as things have been going pretty good. I had my 1 year anniversary from being off interferon September 2012 but I also know that is not a cure. I am just so very scarred….
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- February 3, 2013 at 2:19 pm
Getting an x-ray is a good move. Let's hope it's just that — a rib injury. You don't necessarily have to sustain direct trauma to a rib in order to have a fracture. But it is a good thing that your doctor is being proactive and getting to the bottom of it. PET scans have also been known to give false positive results so some doctors also do CT scans.
Hang in there. {{{{{HUG}}}}}
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- February 3, 2013 at 2:19 pm
Getting an x-ray is a good move. Let's hope it's just that — a rib injury. You don't necessarily have to sustain direct trauma to a rib in order to have a fracture. But it is a good thing that your doctor is being proactive and getting to the bottom of it. PET scans have also been known to give false positive results so some doctors also do CT scans.
Hang in there. {{{{{HUG}}}}}
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- February 3, 2013 at 2:19 pm
Getting an x-ray is a good move. Let's hope it's just that — a rib injury. You don't necessarily have to sustain direct trauma to a rib in order to have a fracture. But it is a good thing that your doctor is being proactive and getting to the bottom of it. PET scans have also been known to give false positive results so some doctors also do CT scans.
Hang in there. {{{{{HUG}}}}}
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- February 4, 2013 at 12:57 pm
Ugh! This awful period of waiting is always the hardest thing to deal with! I am sorry you have to go through this.
I am wondering… I heard that PET scans can give a lot of false positive results. MRI is supposed to be much better for identifying precisely what is causing the problem. Why would your doctor recommend a biopsy rather than an MRI? And if he does do a biopsy, would it be a CT-guided needle biopsy?
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- February 4, 2013 at 12:57 pm
Ugh! This awful period of waiting is always the hardest thing to deal with! I am sorry you have to go through this.
I am wondering… I heard that PET scans can give a lot of false positive results. MRI is supposed to be much better for identifying precisely what is causing the problem. Why would your doctor recommend a biopsy rather than an MRI? And if he does do a biopsy, would it be a CT-guided needle biopsy?
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- February 4, 2013 at 12:57 pm
Ugh! This awful period of waiting is always the hardest thing to deal with! I am sorry you have to go through this.
I am wondering… I heard that PET scans can give a lot of false positive results. MRI is supposed to be much better for identifying precisely what is causing the problem. Why would your doctor recommend a biopsy rather than an MRI? And if he does do a biopsy, would it be a CT-guided needle biopsy?
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- February 4, 2013 at 10:29 pm
Watch and wait with MRIs is another option – that’s what they did when I went from 3c NED to stage 4 with one bone met. My FORMER oncologist went 3 mos though between the scans. New oncologist I still see thought that was way too long. Now whenever stuff like that comes up it is 4 wks if not on treatment.Maybe just something else though too, my PETs lie to me a lot.
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- February 4, 2013 at 10:29 pm
Watch and wait with MRIs is another option – that’s what they did when I went from 3c NED to stage 4 with one bone met. My FORMER oncologist went 3 mos though between the scans. New oncologist I still see thought that was way too long. Now whenever stuff like that comes up it is 4 wks if not on treatment.Maybe just something else though too, my PETs lie to me a lot.
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- February 4, 2013 at 10:29 pm
Watch and wait with MRIs is another option – that’s what they did when I went from 3c NED to stage 4 with one bone met. My FORMER oncologist went 3 mos though between the scans. New oncologist I still see thought that was way too long. Now whenever stuff like that comes up it is 4 wks if not on treatment.Maybe just something else though too, my PETs lie to me a lot.
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- February 5, 2013 at 2:21 am
Thank you everyone for the input. The doctor called me and stated there is no evidence of an injury to the rib. Next step is bone biopsy and it has to be with a heart surgen because it is the rib right over my heart…. Scared to death….
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- February 5, 2013 at 2:21 am
Thank you everyone for the input. The doctor called me and stated there is no evidence of an injury to the rib. Next step is bone biopsy and it has to be with a heart surgen because it is the rib right over my heart…. Scared to death….
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- February 5, 2013 at 2:21 am
Thank you everyone for the input. The doctor called me and stated there is no evidence of an injury to the rib. Next step is bone biopsy and it has to be with a heart surgen because it is the rib right over my heart…. Scared to death….
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