Would you recommend a brain scan? My mum (recently diagnosed stage 4) has been scanned from the neck to the waist. When I asked the oncologist how we would know if it’s spread tot he brain- he said he advised againgst a scan;
Psychologically very hard for a patient to handle this news
She would not be eligible for immunotherapy which is starting next week
she had an incident last week where she forgot a key part of an important phone conversation which has got me worried
many thanks in advance for any advice
Hi Jill. I think that if the oncology team thought it had spread to the brain, then they would do a head scan. With each scan comes a risk with the radiation, so this may be why he advised against it.
I don’t think memory lapse is a huge worry, I have terrible brain fog due to the menopause and my treatment. I can stop mid sentence and completely forget the word I am trying to say. It gets very frustrating, and my family are aware of why this happens, but it is embarrassing in social settings.
From what I have seen from other people who have brain mets, the first signs are headaches, falling over often and seizures.
Good luck to your mum on starting her treatment next week x
