False Hot Spot on PET CT Scan I hope!!!!!

PET scans are notorious for false positives, that's why they are often combined with CTs so you can rule out phantoms.  Inflammation, arthritis, trauma areas can all show up on PET scans and aren't cancer (among other things).  Fingers crossed your doc is right.

PET scans are notorious for false positives, that's why they are often combined with CTs so you can rule out phantoms.  Inflammation, arthritis, trauma areas can all show up on PET scans and aren't cancer (among other things).  Fingers crossed your doc is right.

PET scans are notorious for false positives, that's why they are often combined with CTs so you can rule out phantoms.  Inflammation, arthritis, trauma areas can all show up on PET scans and aren't cancer (among other things).  Fingers crossed your doc is right.

Hi,

I also had a hotspot from my PET scan in my small intestines.  They did a detailed CT with contrast and didn't find any type of mass.   The intestines usually have hotspots so my oncologist wasn't concerned because he said intestines are always lighting up on PET scans from normal activity.  However, my blood work continued to show that I was probably bleeding internally.   I had a colonoscopy.  Clean.  Upper endoscopy.  Clean.

My oncologist at the Mayo is amazing and wouldn't let it go.  So he ordered the PillCam.  It showed that there might be something in the small intestine, jejunum, even though there was not a mass on the CT scan.  So then I had a double balloon antegrade and they took biopsy's from 9 ulcers in my jejunum.  Sadly, they are melanoma.  However, this is very, very rare.  My GI doctor told me that in his 20 plus years of being a doctor at Mayo he has never seen melanoma specifically in the jejunum.    I should have bought a lottery ticket last week with this luck!

I am not sure this is helpful for you, but it is my experience.  I also have mets in the brain and lung.  In my initial PET scan I had hotspots all over the place, many of which did not turn out to be cancer but rather metabolic activity.  

I completely understand the difficulty of waiting and worrying.  It is SO hard.  I am so sorry.  Melanoma is terrible!  With your history, it is most likely metabolic activity.  

Good luck!!

Allyson

Hi,

I also had a hotspot from my PET scan in my small intestines.  They did a detailed CT with contrast and didn't find any type of mass.   The intestines usually have hotspots so my oncologist wasn't concerned because he said intestines are always lighting up on PET scans from normal activity.  However, my blood work continued to show that I was probably bleeding internally.   I had a colonoscopy.  Clean.  Upper endoscopy.  Clean.

My oncologist at the Mayo is amazing and wouldn't let it go.  So he ordered the PillCam.  It showed that there might be something in the small intestine, jejunum, even though there was not a mass on the CT scan.  So then I had a double balloon antegrade and they took biopsy's from 9 ulcers in my jejunum.  Sadly, they are melanoma.  However, this is very, very rare.  My GI doctor told me that in his 20 plus years of being a doctor at Mayo he has never seen melanoma specifically in the jejunum.    I should have bought a lottery ticket last week with this luck!

I am not sure this is helpful for you, but it is my experience.  I also have mets in the brain and lung.  In my initial PET scan I had hotspots all over the place, many of which did not turn out to be cancer but rather metabolic activity.  

I completely understand the difficulty of waiting and worrying.  It is SO hard.  I am so sorry.  Melanoma is terrible!  With your history, it is most likely metabolic activity.  

Good luck!!

Allyson

Hi,

I also had a hotspot from my PET scan in my small intestines.  They did a detailed CT with contrast and didn't find any type of mass.   The intestines usually have hotspots so my oncologist wasn't concerned because he said intestines are always lighting up on PET scans from normal activity.  However, my blood work continued to show that I was probably bleeding internally.   I had a colonoscopy.  Clean.  Upper endoscopy.  Clean.

My oncologist at the Mayo is amazing and wouldn't let it go.  So he ordered the PillCam.  It showed that there might be something in the small intestine, jejunum, even though there was not a mass on the CT scan.  So then I had a double balloon antegrade and they took biopsy's from 9 ulcers in my jejunum.  Sadly, they are melanoma.  However, this is very, very rare.  My GI doctor told me that in his 20 plus years of being a doctor at Mayo he has never seen melanoma specifically in the jejunum.    I should have bought a lottery ticket last week with this luck!

I am not sure this is helpful for you, but it is my experience.  I also have mets in the brain and lung.  In my initial PET scan I had hotspots all over the place, many of which did not turn out to be cancer but rather metabolic activity.  

I completely understand the difficulty of waiting and worrying.  It is SO hard.  I am so sorry.  Melanoma is terrible!  With your history, it is most likely metabolic activity.  

Good luck!!

Allyson