Recent PET
REGISTER
The information on this site is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Content within the patient forum is user-generated and has not been reviewed by medical professionals. Other sections of the Melanoma Research Foundation website include information that has been reviewed by medical professionals as appropriate. All medical decisions should be made in consultation with your doctor or other qualified medical professional.

Recent PET

› Forums › General Melanoma Community › Recent PET

  • Post
    • December 12, 2013 at 4:26 pm
    scrapps
    Participant

      So i do not  frequently post, but I do come here to  listen and learn rom all the other brave people figting this beast. In Aug of 2012  I had a WLE and SLN biopsy perfomred after discovering a 1.7mm ulcerated, nodular melanoma. One microscopic met in the SN. Had the CLND last October and decided on the peg interferon because I didn;t think I could do  the wotch and wait. I made it through 3 self injections and couldn't rationalize the side effects for the minimal channnce it helps. Since then, we have been doing the "wait and watch" I have had 2 PET/CT scans, the first of  which wass clean and had the second yesterday. Asmall hot  spot was found in the muscle int he back of  my left  shoulder. My original mel and CLND was on the right. Doc said it was not a usual pattern for  Mel, but we all know it  doesn;t follow  many patterns. The other confussing thing to all of us was that the area that lit up was not seen on the CT portion of the scan.Doc suggested an US and biopsy which I am trying to schedule. On my car ride back  after the scans I started processing the info and remembered I had a tetanus booster last wed. in the back of  my left arm. Has anyone heard of immunization  sites showing increased uptake in a PET giving a false positive? The articles I found showed some false positives assocciated with the flu shot so I am holding out hope  that is what it is.

       

      Thanks for the help

       

      Wil

    Viewing 2 reply threads
    • Replies
        • December 12, 2013 at 5:03 pm
        POW
        Participant

          Yes, it absolutely could be from your immunization. PET scans just show places where there is a lot of metabolic activity. Any immunization (or infection, for that matter) is supposed to stimulate an immune response. The regional lymph nodes are likely to become very metabolically active for a while and show up positive on a PET scan. Then they should quiet down again in a couple of weeks.

          • December 12, 2013 at 5:03 pm
          POW
          Participant

            Yes, it absolutely could be from your immunization. PET scans just show places where there is a lot of metabolic activity. Any immunization (or infection, for that matter) is supposed to stimulate an immune response. The regional lymph nodes are likely to become very metabolically active for a while and show up positive on a PET scan. Then they should quiet down again in a couple of weeks.

              • December 12, 2013 at 6:03 pm
              scrapps
              Participant

                Thanks for the reply. That s what most info I could find said, but the hot spot wasn't in the regional nodes. It was in the muscle belly itself. I still think it could cause an inflamatory process there, just still the unknown is bothersome. Keeping a positive attitude though.

                • December 12, 2013 at 6:03 pm
                scrapps
                Participant

                  Thanks for the reply. That s what most info I could find said, but the hot spot wasn't in the regional nodes. It was in the muscle belly itself. I still think it could cause an inflamatory process there, just still the unknown is bothersome. Keeping a positive attitude though.

                  • December 12, 2013 at 6:03 pm
                  scrapps
                  Participant

                    Thanks for the reply. That s what most info I could find said, but the hot spot wasn't in the regional nodes. It was in the muscle belly itself. I still think it could cause an inflamatory process there, just still the unknown is bothersome. Keeping a positive attitude though.

                  • December 12, 2013 at 5:03 pm
                  POW
                  Participant

                    Yes, it absolutely could be from your immunization. PET scans just show places where there is a lot of metabolic activity. Any immunization (or infection, for that matter) is supposed to stimulate an immune response. The regional lymph nodes are likely to become very metabolically active for a while and show up positive on a PET scan. Then they should quiet down again in a couple of weeks.

                Viewing 2 reply threads

                Tagged: 

                • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
                About the MRF Patient Forum

                The MRF Patient Forum is the oldest and largest online community of people affected by melanoma. It is designed to provide peer support and information to caregivers, patients, family and friends. There is no better place to discuss different parts of your journey with this cancer and find the friends and support resources to make that journey more bearable.

                The information on the forum is open and accessible to everyone. To add a new topic or to post a reply, you must be a registered user. Please note that you will be able to post both topics and replies anonymously even though you are logged in. All posts must abide by MRF posting policies.

                Popular Topics