My 72 y/o mother had a chest x-ray done that showed lung nodules in the upper quadrant of her right lung. They then did a CT scan and determined that she had three nodules there. Now they want to do a PET scan.
She's a two pack per day smoker for the past 40+ years. She has a light case of COPD.
Any info would be helpful.
2007-02-07 06:35:34 · 2 answers · asked by TomB 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Medicine
They're performing a PET scan because they're unsure about whether the nodules are malignant or not. Her age and heavy smoking history are high risk factors for malignant nodules, so the nodules probably appeared benign on CT-scan for them to want to perform the PET scan.
The PET scan is done primarily in situations where patient's risk is high, but CT-appearance of nodules are benign, or when patient's risk is low but the CT-appearance of nodules is malignant-appearing -- both are intermediate scenarios in which they're not completely sure. Nn your mom's case, she fits the former scenario. Thus, for her, PET scan is being used to verify whether the nodules are malignant or not
2007-02-07 07:12:13 · answer #1 · answered by citizen insane 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Looks like she has tumors in her lungs. If they want to do a PET scan that means they have already decided that it is a tumor and now they are looking for metastases (spreading) of the tumor. Hopefully they have spotted the tumor in its early stages so that it can be treated more readily.
2007-02-07 15:07:58 · answer #2 · answered by Dr. J 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋