Possible Surgery?

• By texaszan
• Posted September 2, 2008 at 9:33 pm

I don't know about the vertebral column but they can do surgery if the rib is involved. They just take out the rib.
I think you have the right idea, if he won't do surgery get another opinion.

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• By terryl
• Posted September 2, 2008 at 10:20 pm

I am a little confused. You said He wants to do a pet and ct to see if she is eligible for surgery. When was the pet that was negative? Have they done a bone scan? Pet scans can be negative with bone mets because pet scans measure metabolic activity, and bones tend to have a slower metabolism.

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• By karilynn
• Posted September 2, 2008 at 10:30 pm

Her initial PET scan was in 07/08, before her biopsy. She will have her 2nd PET/CT scan next week. The 1st PET scan showed no evidence of mets.... but the surgeon said today that he wants to determine if the vertebrae/rib is malignant. I was confused as to why he would say this if the 1st PET scan showed no evidence of mets. The surgeon did not mention a bone scan.

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• By terryl
• Posted September 3, 2008 at 9:06 am

Now I understand. But, what I don't understand is why he hasn't done a bone scan. Like I said, a Pet won't necessarily show bone mets, And a CT well, I supose it would show a mass or tumor if there was one....He must be suspicious of something, is she having rib pain? I would definitly ask about a bone scan. I do know that the bones ( particularly the spine and ribs) are one of the first places mets may appear ( along with liver, brain and adrenal gland...not necessarily in that order). You said no mets, so I am assuming we are talking about lung surgery to remove a single tumor?

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• By lynnmedlen
• Posted September 3, 2008 at 9:12 am

Your not that far away from Duke! Get her there, I went last week and it was the best move I made.

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• By karilynn
• Posted September 3, 2008 at 11:10 am

I wanted her to see David Harpole at DUMC but she found a surgeon, Tim Oaks at Baptist. We are hoping and praying for surgery - Who did you see at Duke?

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