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HELP!

Posted by Luke on 5/20/2008, 10:36 pm
65.61.112.75

A good friend has just told me the doctors have discovered a mass in his wife's lung, along with two blood clots. Their plan is to biopsy the lung mass tomorrow. If it is malignant they will do a Pet Scan to determine if there are other malignancies.

From what I have read here and other places the other way way around would be the more safe approach. Just from what you all have taught me this seems like a money saving step by the insureor, in this case Kaiser.

Would someone please give me some facts and opinions ASAP.

Thanks, Luke

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Thanks

Posted by Luke on 5/21/2008, 11:58 am, in reply to "HELP!"
65.61.112.75

Thanks everyone that helps a lot. Another thing I didn't consider is that biopsies are less likely to collapse a lung for people with normal, undamaged lungs.

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Re: HELP!

Posted by ElaineNY on 5/21/2008, 11:40 am, in reply to "HELP!"
205.188.117.144

Ok, here is my experience with several pulmonary and oncology docs with my husband.
I understand that PET scans can have quite a few "false negatives and positive" Many other conditions can light up in the PET scan. My husband had the biopsy first. Then PET scan to see if any other spots light up - liver, etc. According to his wonderful pulmonary doctor and oncologist the only way to be positive it is cancer is by biopsy! Wishing her all the best and fast treatments! ElaineNY

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Re: HELP!

Posted by Chris M. on 5/21/2008, 12:01 am, in reply to "HELP!"
199.232.90.101

Yeah Luke, I would be on your side about the Pet scans except for those little words, BLOOD CLOTS. Perhaps they didn't want to scare him to death and are just concerned to get her into immediate care.

I'm sure he's got her being seen by top notch folks and his listening isn't being shattered by fear...It's so hard to be the waiting family. Prayers.

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Re: HELP!

Posted by CarolCA on 5/21/2008, 12:08 am, in reply to "Re: HELP!"
67.164.118.40

Seems to me it would be the other way around because I would not think they would want to do any invasive proceedure if a person already had blood clots. The only problem with the PET scan is it can not tell you exactly the type of cancer and there are different kinds, i.e. small cell and that will give a better idea of prognosis. I am really not sure that PET scans are really that much more expensive than biopsy but I know that personally I would not allow a biopsy unless I had a PET scan first even if I had to pay for it myself but that is me and nothing is 100%.

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