I think I mentioned some time ago that I had my annual CT Scan coming up in late June. I've had these annually for about 5 or 6 years now and there's not been anything of particular concern with the results but this time there was
I got the results a few days ago on the 6th of July. It reveald a new nodule in my upper left lung; 1.2 cm in size. It wasn't there last scan so it developed sometime in the past year. I have had a couple of small nodules, only 3 or 4 mm in my lungs since my first scan but they have said these are nothing to be concerned about as there's been no growth over the years and many people have small nodules; even non-smokers.
This new one suddenly appearing and being over 1cm had the Doc going into preventative action mode rather than just watching it for the next year or so. He doesn't want to do a biopsy cuz he said there's a 25% chance they could puncture my left lung doing that so he's recommending a PET Scan instead.
I agreed that this sounded like the best way to proceed at this point. I got a call today letting me know they had secured a spot for me at the only hospital in the general area where I live to have the PET Scan done this Sat., July 11th. I asked him how he got such a quick date for the scan and his answer was; "when I tell them it's required for a possible cancer diagnosis, they move pretty quickly!" Him saying that, mentioning the C word brought the gravity of the situation down on me pretty suddenly but, I suppose I really knew that's what we were possibly dealing with anyway, based on the CT Scan results.
So, that's my Saturday then ... a few hours drive back & forth to this hospital and the PET Scan, which is about 1.5 hours in length; most of that time resting after they inject the radioactive tracer stuff into you through an IV.
For anyone unfamiliar with a PET Scan (as I was); I've copied an AI summary below that explains it better than I can.
Will update y'all as things happen. I should have the results of the PET Scan next week sometime
Pet Scan:
A Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scan is an imaging test that uses a small, safe amount of a radioactive substance (radiotracer) to visualize how your tissues and organs are functioning on a cellular level. It is primarily used to detect or monitor cancer, heart disease, and brain disorders.
What a PET Scan Does
While standard imaging tests like X-rays or MRIs mainly show the structure of your body, a PET scan reveals how your body's cells and tissues are working.
How it works: You receive an injection of a radiotracer, which often behaves like a natural substance in your body, such as a form of radioactive sugar (FDG). Because diseased cells (like rapidly dividing cancer cells) tend to consume energy and sugar much faster than healthy cells, they absorb large amounts of the tracer. The scanner detects this radiation and maps out these "hot spots".
Combined scans: PET scans are frequently combined with CT (Computed Tomography) scans. A PET/CT Scan overlays the functional activity of the PET scan with the high-resolution anatomical mapping of a CT scan, providing doctors with an exact location of diseased areas.
Why It Is Done:
Doctors rely on PET scans for several vital medical purposes:
Cancer detection: Finding early-stage cancers, determining if a tumor has spread, and staging the disease.
Evaluating treatments: Checking whether chemotherapy or radiation is successfully shrinking a tumor.
Cardiology: Assessing blood flow in the heart, detecting damaged or scarred heart tissue, and evaluating if a heart attack has caused permanent damage.
Neurology: Identifying brain abnormalities such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, and brain tumors.
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