Hi Debbiep, I know that there really is no right or wrong answer. Each Dr. Has their own schedule they likedliked tytyo follow. First off, my Dr. has never ordered a cat scan. He only does pet scans and he told be when I was not on treatment and now while on treatment, we will only do a scan when numbers have jumped and I am showing symptoms.
My Goodwill
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DebbieP asked a questionOvarian and Fallopian Tube Cancer
CT scans
10 answers-
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Kirvin
11 months agoI have stage 4 ovarian cancer diagnosed in January. The first round of chemo worked and I'm on a maintenance plan with targeted drug therapy indefinitely. I get a CA 125 test every 3 weeks when I get my infusion and a CT scan every three months. I've read articles in which "experts" say they don't recommend this because it doesn't "increase survival rates." I don't care. It's my doctor's plan for me and it gives me peace of mind. If the markers start going up we'll know something is up. If the CT scan shows something new, we'll deal with it. Like someone else said, you have to be your own advocate. You also have to trust your doctor and have good communication with her or him. God bless!
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kalindria
11 months agoWhen I was first diagnosed at stage IV, I was in California at Kaiser and they use PET scans. After treatment and surgery, I was NED (no evidence of disease) and told I would get scans every 6 months for the next few years and regular (every three months) blood tests unless and until something changed.
Now I'm in Washington with Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and they use CT scans. When I first arrived, their protocol was no scans unless something warranted a closer look so last spring when my CA125 kept doubling, I had my first scan. It was clear. Three months later, I had another which showed two new small nodules; one of which was definitely cancer.
Now I'm part of a clinical trial and their protocol calls for CT scans every nine weeks.
From my perspective, PET scans are much easier for the patient to grasp as you can see the areas where the contrast is absorbed (cancer sites). I've heard CT are less expensive and honestly, I don't care what they use to diagnose me as long as it's accurate. Both methods work well from my perspective.
I wish you all the best. Keep us posted, OK?
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DebbieP asked a questionOvarian and Fallopian Tube Cancer
Talc and ovarian cancer
18 answers-
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kalindria
over 1 year agoHere's a link to the latest award: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/johnson-johnson-pay-55-million-talc-powder-trial-n566696
Also handled by my attorneys, Beasley Allen. They've been great.
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jackieg
11 months agoI contacted a lawyer when this first came out and they went through all of the questions and then the last thing they told me was that since my tumor was more than 10 years old (21 years) they would not be able to help becasuse it woukd need to be tested and hospitals only keep tissue for 10 years at the most. What I don't understand is, if Johnson and Johnson have known about this for years, it was the best kept secret there was. Lawyers always know when something out there is not right
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DebbieP started following
Question: Talc and ovarian cancer
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DebbieP asked a questionOvarian and Fallopian Tube Cancer
CT Scans
10 answers-
SueRae1
over 2 years agoHugs, healing vibes and prayers. I wish I could answer you question. After my nephrectomy I had CT scans every 3 months for year, then twice a year till year 5 and we stopped doing them after 10 years, and only did a sonogram on my surviving Kidney once a year after that. Unfortunately the cancer Metastasized after 14 years, it was discovered after the sonogram showed a cyst on my kidney, and they sent me for a CT to confirm, the CT found something on liver....the interesting thing was my markers were all normal. I prefer MRIs for two reasons 1)no radiation 2)you don't have to drink the gunk.
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Patriciaa1963
over 2 years agoI am currently 9 months out from my last chemo. I had a CT scan to first diagnose in Feb 2014, then another one after 3 rounds of chemo. I haven't had anymore since then. I go for check ups every 3 months for the 1st 2 years, then every 4 for the next 2. The 5th year I go every 6 months. After that just once a year. I'm striving to be like Carol-Charlie!! Impressive 10 years cancer free. I was also diagnosed stage IV.
Patty
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SpunkyS
over 2 years agoI had a CT about 2 or3 weeks after finishing my last chemo. I did not have another one until my CA-125 was elevated AND I was symptomatic. My oncologist and I discussed the pros and cons of doing CT more often. We both opted to not scan BECAUSE:
reduce the risk of other cancers caused by the CT radiation,
be good stewards of health care dollars
research shows no change in treatment outcomes but better quality of life with treating when symptomatic. A positive CT would be symptomatic - but I chose the physical symptoms of recurrence. I will do the same thing when I finish this round of chemo.
I was checked monthly for awhile, then every 3 months until I started having more rapid increase in CA-125.
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