The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation

Finally got pet scan results... 😐

Hi all. So my mum had a pet scan 3 weeks ago to investigate a mass in her upper right lung. She spoke to her consultant on the phone today and he explained that the scan showed the active area in the right side as expected but there is also a very small active area in her left lung (which didn't show up on the chest X-ray or ct scan) he said this is very unusual and the delay in getting the results was due to the report being looked at by a few consultants to decide on the best course of action. She will have a needle biopsy in the next week or so and also blood tests. My mum asked about potential treatment and he said surgery on the left and radiotherapy on the right side - does this sound right? The right tumour is about 1.5 inches so would they not remove that surgically and use radiotherapy on the left side which is very small? He also didn't mention chemo. I am also wondering if anyone can shed some light on why her case is unusual?

Thanks

d x

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RoyCastleHelplineRoyCastleHelpline

a year ago

Dear Missdwatts,

The only person who will be able to answer your specific questions regarding your mum’s management is the Consultant managing her care. The reasons why she has to have surgery as opposed to radiotherapy will depend on a variety of factors based on her test/scan results,size,position etc. It is difficult to retain information given over the phone. It might be useful to write down the specific questions you have and ask the Consultant at the next clinic visit.After the needle biopsy, the tissue results will inform the doctors of the tissue type and tumour stage and the Consultant will discuss with you what the implications of these results will be as regards how your mums care will be managed in the future.

Kind regards,

All the Roy Castle Helpline team.