Good question! ALWAYS question ANY tests your doctor wants to run on
you. READ the book, "Examining Your Doctor," by Timothy McCall MD. It's
available from the library or cheaply on line. McCall says MANY
unnecessary tests are run, that doctors DO make money on unnecessary
tests, and that the MORE tests done, the more chance of a false
positive result, which causes emotional stress and MORE tests.
Questions to ask about most any test are:
Is this test absolutely necessary?
What do you expect to find out from this test/how will it help ME?
If you do not run this test, will that compromise treatment?
What would you do differently, if anything, if we did not do this test?
Now with regard to any dangers from a PET scan, you BET there are
dangers. I went to an information site about PET scans, and I picked
out this one sentence:
"There is no danger from this tracer and the radiation exposure is
similar to what you might receive from a CT scan."
Okay... Well, as I understand it, there ARE a few people who are
allergic to the tracer and who can even die from the reaction to it. I
am certain there are people who are deathly allergic to the dye used
prior to CT scans, so why would the dye used with PET scans be any
different?
Then, with regard to the radiation one receives from a PET scan being
similar to the radiation received from a CT scan, the FACT is that a CT
scan delivers a HUGE AMOUNT of radiation. The radiation a person
receives from ONE full-body CT scan is similar in amount to the
radiation some of the people in Hiroshima and Nagasaki were exposed to
when the atomic bomb was dropped on those cities.
I would like you to play a little game with your doctor. It's a very
simple, harmless game:
First, do an internet search under "CT scan amount of radiation," or go
to the American Cancer Society web site and search under CT scan, and
find the page where the American Cancer Society says how very much
radiation is delivered by CT scans. Go to a few different sites, and
make hard copies of all your information with the facts about how much
radiation is delivered by CT scans circled in red.
Next, delay the PET scan until you see your doctor again, and at that
time ask him/her how much radiation is delivered by a CT scan. I expect
he will either not know or he will make a guess that way off to the low
side.
At that point, tell him what the numbers really are, and if he
disagrees, take out the papers you have brought with you and show them
to him/her.
Then refuse the PET scan in favor of the blood testing, UNLESS your
doctor can give you IRON-CLAD reasons why you absolutely need the PET
scan.
Do you know an oncologist exists in California who does not bother with
scans? I am not even sure he uses blood tests. What he mainly uses is
how his clients look and feel. Can you imagine ANYTHING so STRANGE? :+))
Best wishes and best of health,
Elliot
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