First Post Treatment PET Scan this week

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I have my first post treatment PET Scan on Tuesday to see if my chemo/radiation treatments removed all of my HPV+ SCC.  I’m terrified at the moment and am honestly looking for words of encouragement.  At my one month follow up my oncologist said everything looked great and at a separate ENT appointment I was told that no causes for concern were noticed.  Unfortunately my anxiety is getting the best of me right now and I can’t help but feel like I may receive negative news. 

  • Hi Squid ... only natural to feel negative. My hubby had surgery and treatment and post 17 months and still has days were he feels negative. Stick with this forum as these guys are true warriors and you have done all the hard work time to heal . Sending you all the best xx

  • Hi, Sqiud74, these post treatment scans do raise anxiety levels. The things to bear in mind are, the fact that both your appointments have been positive, and that the treatment does give very high cure rates.

    Ray. 

  • Thanks Bridget - I guess occasionally feeling negative is part of my “new normal”.  All the best to your hubby as well.

  • Thanks Ray - just what I was looking for.  I will cling tightly to your words. Truly appreciated Sir.

  • Your welcome and stick with the forum they will steer you in the right direction xx

  • Hi Squid

    I was apprehensive about my post treatment PET/CT scan but everything was hunky dory....we all get the collywobbles about these scans/reviews but as time marches on we become less concerned.

    Take care

    Peter

  • Thanks Peter. Your post definitely helped….and made me laugh. I hadn’t heard “collywobbles” since my Great Grandmother passed in the early 90s.  Thanks for the fond memory

  • Hi Squid. HPV driven tonsil cancer is uniquely sensitive to radiotherapy and cure rates are in excess of 95%
    That’s not to say we can take it for granted and that’s where the stress comes in. I had a hotspot show up at 16 weeks at the site of the original cancer and that set my head back a bit. In the end biopsy was negative. 

    Dani 

    Base of tongue cancer. T2N0M0 6 weeks Radiotherapy finished January 2019

    I BLOGGED MY TREATMENT 

    Macmillan Support Line -  0808 808 00 00 7 days a week between 8am-8pm

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  • It's great news that your two follow-ups so far were positive! Hold on to the fact that our cancers are very vulnerable to radiotherapy. What you're looking for from the scan results is "complete response to treatment" - that can feel like an anticlimax but it means the cancer is all gone. Hopefully that will be you! Try to have a nice weekend and not think about it - easier said than done I know. Good luck! 

    Catriona

    September 2022 aged 63 diagnosed with HPV associated SCC base of tongue T4 N2 M0. Chemo & radiotherapy for 6 weeks ending Nov 2022. Now over 2 years all clear. See my profile for longer story

  • Thank you so much!