Hi, well Wednesday is finally here and Paul has his MRI to try and find out if this new problem is nerve damage or another set back .Hi to Mimi I think this is the day you get your results so thinking about you and hope all is A1.

It has crossed my mind recently when reading through posts that a few people have had PET scans and Paul has never been offered this .Is this becuase it would be of no benefit to him or is it because an MRI is just as good ?

When reading up on PET scans they appear to be more in depth and conclusive and wondered if anybody has more indepth knowledge of this .Once Paul's results come through and we speak with team I will ask about this .But in the meantime it has been needling me .

Bell .

Hi Bell.As far as I know, up to last year, there was only one PET scanner in Scotland, & that was in Aberdeen. One opened in Glasgow in 2007 & Edinburgh was due to get one last year.
The lack of scanners may have been the reason Paul wasn't offered a scan. I feel sure they will become more common as the number of machines increases & the Consultants are happy with the results.
Belated New Year greetings. Fran.

Happy New Year to you to Fran ,I think you are right, had a look to find PET scanners in Scotland but just kept bringing up Aberdeen so that is possibly why.Think I have become aware through posts other people seem to be having PET scans opposed to MRI so got me thinking as to which was the best etc .

Thanks for your reply and will ask at next appointment .Paul had his MRI today so will wait for the results feel a little uncertain as Paul has had 2 sets of RT now and I know sometimes it makes it more difficult to differentiate and wondered if the PET scan would be more beneficial .The powers that be still seem to be raining on our parade at moment as our middle daughter who is 30 has been feeling unwell for a few months and has been having bloods done consistently as her white cell count is going down and down and now is at neutrapoenic level so are now going to send her to the specialized nutrapoenia unit to do further tests so we are hoping this is not going to be something serious .

Thank you Fran, hope life is good for you and John and and you are both keeping well .

Best wishes Bell.

Morning Bell,sorry to hear about your Daughter. If its not one worry ,its another. I hope things turn out well for her.
We are just toddling along, Brians recovering from a Viral infection he's had since Xmas,but he's feeling better, & I'm just waiting or Spring so I can come out of hibernation
Let us know how your Daughter gets on. Fran

Bell,

I have no idea how I skipped over the information about your daughter. Sorry to hear about it and hope it's something that can be managed quickly.

In the meantime, how are you doing? Having been both patient and carer, I find them equally challenging. Take care of yourself.

Let us know how she's doing.

Mimi

Bell, I am so sorry to hear about your daughter. As if you haven't already got enough to worry about....

Re scans. PET/CTs are certainly expensive but the literature also shows a real difference of opinion about how effective they are in practice. I think the jury is very much still out on that one. PET on its own is not that great, particularly for identifying early nodal disease, but the combo seems to be increasing the identification of occult primaries and for assessing the success of treatment although there is much debate about the ideal timing. Some seem to think that 3-5 months after treatment will allow onocologists to distinguish between scar tissue and cancer cells, but others disagree. It does appear that different centers use different concentrations of contrasting images and different standards for reading results, so I think at the moment there is quite a bit of 'subjectivity' involved in the interpretations of the scans.

As far as I understand some think MRI is almost as good - with the benefit of not exposing patients to the same level of radiation as a CT, which is consierable for a full body scan. However, I have read that MRI's are very sensitive to movement such as patients coughing which is why some aren't keen on using them for head and neck. Having said that a few of the cancer sites do suggest that MRI is the favoured option for nasopharngyl cancer so maybe that is the reason they are being recommended for Paul. Please do post when you have an answer from your team as I have become very interested in all of this.

I hope you are both managing to stay calm while waiting for the results. I am already so scared about Chaz's scan I don't know how I am going to cope with the next few weeks.

Big hugs
Cath

CathyS, thanks for your input think you right will ask anyway to see what they say and I will let u know. I also feel that maybe the nearest Pet scaner is some distance.

This week will be spent waiting for more results regarding our daughter and I am hoping that Paul's specialist will maybe have chased up Paul's, in the past he has usually got in touch quite early although radioligists have said a couple of weeks.But as we all know until they say all is ok it remains in the fore front of your mind .

So it is back to tactics of keeping busy and not letting it take over and concentrating on planning outings etc. Weather here is awful and freezing so not good for walking and golf is out .The cold winds make his eyes run and his face worse so we are in pursuit of cosy places .Think the cinema and visiting friends and family will be the order of next week.Our local cinema is quite old and Paul has to dangle his legs out the side in an ailse seat and I always end up with one that flips up so I think we may go up to town for a comfy seat.lol

Thinking of you and Chaz ,keep busy .

Love Bell.

Hi Bell
Just a quickie to let you know I'm thinking of you both. Times are tough. As you say, best to keep busy. Worrying now will make no difference whatsoever to the outcome of Paul's scans nor your daughter's results so make the most of the time and ignorance you have up til you get the results. (I know ....... that's all so easily said, or written!)
Cheers from a disgustingly hot South Australia!
Love
Deborah