Calintay Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 I have a question that I do not want to bring up to my mom or her doctor because I don't want it to scare my mom for no reason. When a CT scan is done would that show things in the brain also? It hasn't spread to anywhere except maybe her lymph nodes in her mediastinum. Or do I need to ask the doctor to check it out with a MRI? I want to be sure that it is all checked out but my mom has mentioned how scared she would be if it spread to her brain. Do CT show the brain as well? Calintay Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimmek Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Calintay I think that normally a MRI is done for the brain, although maybe if the ct scan was ordered for the brain it would show. When my mom was first dx, they did ct scan of her chest area,mri of her brain and bone scan for her bones. I would think that your mom had all of this done at dx. I see she did have a pet scan also, again i am not sure about the brain there either. Someone will be answering your post that has much more knowledge in this area than I do. I really just wanted to say Hi and let you know you are not alone here in the middle of the night!! Keep us posted on how your Moms treatment progresses and if you have any questions feel free to PM me and if dont have the answers I will get you to someone who does. It looks as though your Mom's dx is pretty similiar to what my moms was, and mom is doing great today and is "NED"( No Evidence of Disease). God Bless Kim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimblanchard Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Jim has had a couple of PET scans and they scanned from the top of his head down to his knees, so it could be her brain has been checked in that way. An easy way to find out - I always ask for copies of test results. You could get a copy of the report and it may mention something about it. Or - there would be no harm in just calling up the nurses and asking - in a general way - when a person gets a PET scan, is it their whole body? Good luck to you. Wishing you a New Year full of good surprises. Margaret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowflake Posted January 1, 2005 Share Posted January 1, 2005 Calintay, I see my PCP for issues between visits to my oncologist. Over the summer I was experiencing headaches and some other "odd" symptoms which she felt could be attributed to my thyroid, but wanted to rule out other things due to my "history". She ordered a brain CT, it was completed, and the results came back stating that if she wants to rule out brain mets, she needs to follow-up with a brain MRI...so we did the MRI. A closed MRI...and I have a bit of claustrophobia - she gave me a one-time prescription for 10 mg. of Valium. Did the trick, someone may have been hurting, but it sure as heck wasn't me! I would think that to rule out brain mets at any time, an MRI would be used. I'm not sure even a PET scan can take a good look at the brain. My two cents, Becky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justakid Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 Hi- Last year I was having headaches, long before my cancer dx. The doctor ordered a CAT Scan which showed something strange. Because of that a brain MRI was ordered to rule out a tumor.......the MRI came back that it was a normal brain variance. If you don't like tight spaces, ask your doctor for something, they told me to take a benadryl.....I took two and was more hyper then ever. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAnn Posted January 2, 2005 Share Posted January 2, 2005 Usually when a lung cancer patient gets a CT scan it is of the chest and abdomen. If symptoms arise, then they will do a brain MRI. You could always ask your mom if when she gets the CT does she go all the way into the machine, or do they stop at the top of her chest? That will tell you! (You go in feet first and they usually stop at the neck) The best of luck to you and your mom. TAnn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharyn Posted January 3, 2005 Share Posted January 3, 2005 Here's the information I recieved from my Dads Doctor: PET SCAN- does not show brain mets CT SCAN - can show brain mets MRI - best diagnostic tool for brian mets Hope it helps.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berisa Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 either CT or MRI can detect brain mets. Consult the oncologist. Brain Scan normally will do right after diagnosis, it's a part of detecting how widespread the cancer is initially. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stand4hope Posted January 4, 2005 Share Posted January 4, 2005 Calintay, We were told exactly what Sharyn posted. Peggy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilgna Posted January 12, 2005 Share Posted January 12, 2005 Remember a separate brain CT must be ordered, CT of chest AB and Pelvis, which is a typical CT for our DX does not include the brain. good luck.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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