Sorry to hear this. However, a lump is just that. I can see the reasoning behind a PET, especially with a cancer history. I am guessing that normally they would perform a needle biopsy. The PET will simply show how much energy the lump is consuming. The less, the better.

If it shows a fair amount of what is termed "avid uptake", they would then most likely proceed to biopsy (or lumpectomy?). It might not be cancer. It could be fibroid tissue, a lipoma or ??? And, even if it is a malignancy, it might not be breast cancer.

Some have developed lymphoma in the breast tissue and, while that is not necessarily good news, it is far from the worst. To remain sane, the following motto is suggested: "I do not have cancer until a pathology report says I have cancer."

Do let us know what comes to pass.

Did your breast surgeon try to aspirate it or biopsy it, or will it be removed entirely? Seems to me that before searching for a metastasis, your doctor should first determine if the lump is cancer (I assume the lump is in your breast).

If you're asking what a pet scan does, very simply, it will light up in a bright color on the imaging system to show that there is higher metabolic uptake in the lump, node, or another body part that they are looking at. That doesn't always mean it's malignant, there are a few instances where it would light up and not be. We wish you the best and NO LIGHTS!

Please share more on your question ‘what to expect’. Are you asking what happens during test, why pet, or something else.

I'm not sure what you're asking either, but I will share that I love a PET scan! I was told that this scan would look at my body from head to toe and look for where cancer has spread to, if at all. Not too many years ago that would be exploratory surgery that would be very invasive to look inside a person's abdomen and look for where cancer is. Now, in 30 minutes they know this. It's one example of technology moving forward and making cancer more treatable.