Wellness

[halfpint1]

This concerns lymph nodes growing. They don't know why in dh case. He is being sent to a surgeon. The one doctor said it could either be an infection or cancer. Will have to see if he is asked to have a biopsy.

[Chrystaltree2]

It's called a PET Scan....

http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=pet#overview

[Gracies Mom]

I have PET scans all the time. I have uterine cancer that keeps recurring. I get an injection of a special nuclear dye that contains glucose (or some sort of sugar)--it appears that cancer likes sugar--the dye will show up in any places of the body that has cancer--the cancer "uptakes" the dye--and the area lights up on the scan. I had a new area in my body that showed this uptake of the dye, so I had to go for a needle biopsy--the surgeon needed to make sure if it was my usual cancer spreading bit--or a new cancer. Turns out it was the same old cancer--and am now in treatment once again. So, a PET scan is a good tool to look for cancer. It's not a scary or painful test----just the waiting for results is.

Best of luck to you and your DH!!!

[Lilysmom]

@halfpint1, sending prayers your way for you and DH.  LM

[RedTop]

My husband had a PET scan earlier this year.   Because he is diabetic, there were some special instructions.  He could not eat within a specific time frame before the scan, but had to have a blood sugar reading within a specific range to do the test.   When my husband's blood sugar reading was taken, it was too low, so he had to drink something to bring it up above the minimum level.  If your husband receives similar instructions due to his diabetes, I suggest he eat a meal with both protein and carbs to maintain a good blood sugar prior to the test.   If your husband takes insulin, he may be instructed to either delay his shot, or only take half of the insulin, to ensure a good reading for the test.   Best wishes to your husband with this testing.   

[halfpint1]

Yes it was a scan. I just didn't remember the word. We he saw the doctor that dh has to have an evaluation if he is a candidate for dh has many things wrong from copd, hypertention, atrial fibrillation beside the diabetes. It did not sound like a needle biopsy. If it means going under I don't know. Also in the mail today he has to have an vascular ultrasound  for an abdominal aorta.  

[jaxs mom]

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@halfpint wrote:

Yes it was a scan. I just didn't remember the word. We he saw the doctor that dh has to have an evaluation if he is a candidate for dh has many things wrong from copd, hypertention, atrial fibrillation beside the diabetes. It did not sound like a needle biopsy. If it means going under I don't know. Also in the mail today he has to have an vascular ultrasound  for an abdominal aorta.  

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If they suspect he has lymphoma then they will usually remove a whole lymph node to test. They can also find out if it's non-hodgkins lymphoma or hodgkins lymphoma ( they are different diseases)  and which type, there are four different subtypes of hodgkins lymphoma for example, I'm not sure about the subtypes of non-hodgkins. In my case, they took the lymph node from my chest area after making an incision just below my neck but it really depends on where the swollen nodes are and that varies by person. The decision would be based on the results of the CT or PET scan.