Hi all,
A brief back story, I have had severe sciatica for months now and have been unable to walk or stand longer than 5 mins without severe pain. I underwent an MRI 2 months ago as they suspected I had Claude Equina Syndrome. I didn’t thank goodness. But the Drs had found a growth in my cervix.
since then it has been a whirlwind of tests and appointments.
My first appointment was with the gynaecologist and an oncologist. They found a 3 cm x 3 cm growth on my cervix and took a biopsy. Then the oncologist spoke with me for a little while. I’ve had several MRIs now and an ultrasound. MDT meeting last week said they now want a PET CT, which I’m doing Saturday. The nurse who rang me wouldn’t give me a definitive answer over the phone. However on the referral for the pet scan it says probable stage 2 cancer.
how probable is probable?
Hi Subby and welcome to our group.
You're at a difficult time in the diagnostic process at the moment, waiting for all your tests to be completed, and it’s hard not having certainty. I also had severe sciatica for a long time well before my diagnosis so I do appreciate what a debilitating condition that is to live with.
You mention multiple scans and a biopsy, and usually it’s the biopsy which gives the definitive answer on whether there is cancer present or not-have you not had the results from that yet? If the referral says probable stage 2 cancer, then in my own experience they will be pretty certain but need the PET scan to be sure of the stage.
When I was first being diagnosed, the gynaecologist could see my tumour himself on examination, but took several biopsies which then confirmed it was cancer. He didn’t suggest it might be cancer-he said he’d have to wait for the biopsy results, but I think he was pretty sure from what he could see!
I then had an mri and a CT scan. My tumour measured 3.7cm, but was contained to the cervix and surrounding tissues, which put me at stage 2b. This stage was too advanced for surgery (a radical hysterectomy) and so I needed to have chemo and radiotherapy as my treatment.
The nurse won’t be able to give you definitive answers without the PET scan results. If the cancer has spread beyond the cervix, that will change the staging, so until you have the scan, that’s another piece of the diagnostic jigsaw needed to confirm the most appropriate treatment plan.
The PET scan is quite straightforward, but does involve a bit of waiting around. You have a radioactive tracer delivered through a cannula in your arm, and you need to sit quietly (in my case this took nearly an hour) while the tracer liquid travels round your body. The scan itself took around 20 minutes for me, and was much easier than undergoing an mri. The tracer will highlight hot spots and for me confirmed that my cancer was contained to my cervix and hadn’t spread further.
I hope your scan tomorrow gives the results you need to move forward, and please feel free to ask any questions here in the group as things go along,
Sarah xx
