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Cat Forum / Cat Anecdotes / February 2006Purrs for my brother, Scott (PING: Howard?!)
Before I left on my trip, Scott called me early one morning to say he was very ill. He had been sick for 4 days. That morning he got up to take a shower and got so dizzy he nearly passed out. He was having trouble breathing and almost called 911. He was in a panic. He called me and I rushed right over. I got on the phone and arranged for him to be seen at my regular doctor's office. (He'd been there before but not for about 6 years.) They took him right in; he was still signing those HIPAA forms when they called his name. Turned out he had a rather nasty case of bronchitis. They gave him a bunch of physician's samples and had him breathe on a nebulizer for a while to loosen the gunk in his lungs. However, the chest x-ray showed a rather indeterminate spot, located as it was at the joining of a couple of ribs. So they sent him earlier this week for a CT scan. The CT scan showed two non-calicified nodules in his left lung - one is 5mm in the upper lobe and one is 6.7mm in the lower lobe. Also several "subpleural blebs" and several small "mediastinal lymph nodes". I have no idea what all this means but they were going to schedule him for a PET scan. He did say so far no one has mentioned the "C" word but I think that's what the PET scan is used to determine?! And yes, he's been a smoker since 1970 although when he was so ill with the bronchitis he practically quit since he couldn't breathe anyway. Jill Purrs on the way.  SignatureHugs, CatNipped See all my masters at: http://www.PossiblePlaces.com/CatNipped/ > Before I left on my trip, Scott called me early one morning to say he was > very ill. He had been sick for 4 days. That morning he got up to take a [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > Jill > Before I left on my trip, Scott called me early one morning to say he > was very ill. He had been sick for 4 days. That morning he got up [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Jill Purrs on the way. I hope it's something treatable and that the scare stops him smoking. SignatureAdrian (Owned by Snoopy and Bagheera) A House is not a home, without a cat. http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk What Adrian said. I hope he feels better soon in any case, and that it's not the big C. Melissa Purrs and prayers for your brother. Please keep us updated. Lily & her mama SignatureIrulan from the stars we come to the stars we return from now until the end of time > Before I left on my trip, Scott called me early one morning to say he was > very ill. He had been sick for 4 days. That morning he got up to take a [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > Jill >> However, the chest x-ray showed a rather indeterminate spot, located as >> it [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >> think >> that's what the PET scan is used to determine?! Uh, I'm not Howard (whom I'm sure knows a lot more about PET scans than I do....never worked at a facility where they had one during my career; all I know is that like MRI, they can show a lot of detail regular xrays don't show) but for what it's worth and to ease your worry I hope: CT is also very informative to docs but is practically routine these days for in detail 411.....I used to work the fluoroscopy units for *lung biopsies* which is what they used then to look for the big C....during the exam (patient is awake because they need to have him stop breathing at certain points) samples are taken from actual lung tissue at the areas of concern on xray, and sent to lab for analysis, the ultimate proof or not of "C". Howard B. will hopefully fill us in on PET scans. Don't waste any worry on "subpleural blebs" nor "mediastinal lymph nodes". Long-time smokers get all kind of defensive body tissue in their lungs that is *not* the big C (which also has nothing whatsoever to do with bronchitis, which I understand can make one *very* sick). > Before I left on my trip, Scott called me early one morning to say he was > very ill. He had been sick for 4 days. That morning he got up to take a [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > Jill Lots of purrs for Scott's illness to turn out not serious. Tweed > Before I left on my trip, Scott called me early one morning to say he was > very ill. He had been sick for 4 days. That morning he got up to take a [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > And yes, he's been a smoker since 1970 although when he was so ill with the > bronchitis he practically quit since he couldn't breathe anyway. Many purrs on the way for your brother, Jill. SignatureMarina, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Frank and Nikki. marina (dot) kurten (at) iki (dot) fi Stories and pics at http://koti.welho.com/mkurten/ Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/ and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki > Before I left on my trip, Scott called me early one morning to say > he was very ill. He had been sick for 4 days. Many purrs for Scott. Signaturemonique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca Purrs on the way. Ann Signatureread Sam's blog at http://kittens-3.blogspot.com/ see pictures of Sam at http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ann791/my_photos > Before I left on my trip, Scott called me early one morning to say he was > very ill. He had been sick for 4 days. That morning he got up to take a [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > Jill Purrs for Scott - and for his worried sister. SignatureJoy **Don't believe everything you think** > Before I left on my trip, Scott called me early one morning to say he was > very ill. He had been sick for 4 days. That morning he got up to take a [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Jill Very scary. Many purrs coming right up for Scott. SignatureBritta Purring is an automatic safety valve device for dealing with happiness overflow. - Anonymous Check out pictures of Vino at: http://photos.yahoo.com/badwilson click on the Vino album > Before I left on my trip, Scott called me early one morning to say he > was very ill. He had been sick for 4 days. That morning he got up [quoted text clipped - 23 lines] > > Jill > Before I left on my trip, Scott called me early one morning to say he was > very ill. He had been sick for 4 days. That morning he got up to take a [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > PET scan. He did say so far no one has mentioned the "C" word but I think > that's what the PET scan is used to determine?! PET is a relatively new technique in clinical use, often used to complement CT. Since I haven't been following its use in lung disease, I just read a review article, and was surprised to see how important hybrid CT-PET is in lung cancer. Apparently, it gives an enormously better understanding of the stage of the disease -- including suggestions it is benign. In the series of patients I looked at, the physicians said that PET-CT results led them to make different treatment decisions in somewhere between a third and a half of cases. They felt they weren't taking biopsies of benign things, and were spotting distant metastases much better. That said, the imaging alone only suggests. Biopsy, which may be possible with a tube down the throat rather than opening the chest, still is the gold standard. For certain tumors, there may be blood changes. I'm not trying to be facetious, but there's a cynical acronym among a lot of doctors: VOMIT, which stands for Victim Of Modern Imaging Technology, or depending too much on imaging and not enough on the overall clinical picture. While I wouldn't call enlarged lymph nodes a good sign, they could be enlarged from infection as well. I'm wondering about exactly what is causing the bronchitis, and if there may be a lower lung infection. The PET-CT (almost always combined) will give a lot of information, including the most meaningful spots to biopsy. It's really hard to suggest what is wrong without physical exam and lab tests, which apparently aren't definitive anyway. If it is lung cancer, there have been some striking advances in chemotherapy in the last few years. I advise most people with suspected or confirmed cancer to see if there are relevant local clinical trials, as that is often the way to get at least the best standard treatment, and possibly a more effective one. Purrs, of course, help. > And yes, he's been a smoker since 1970 although when he was so ill with the > bronchitis he practically quit since he couldn't breathe anyway. > > Jill >> However, the chest x-ray showed a rather indeterminate spot, located >> as it was at the joining of a couple of ribs. So they sent him [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] > > Purrs, of course, help. This information is very helpful, thank you! His PET scan is scheduled for Tuesday morning. We'll know more then (I assume they review the scan the same day and make recommendations from there). Jill Many purrs for health and healing for your brother and understanding for your family. Charleen >>> However, the chest x-ray showed a rather indeterminate spot, located >>> as it was at the joining of a couple of ribs. So they sent him [quoted text clipped - 51 lines] > > Jill > This information is very helpful, thank you! His PET scan is scheduled for > Tuesday morning. We'll know more then (I assume they review the scan the > same day and make recommendations from there). Do be sure it is hybrid PET-CT, not PET manually correlated with CT. The diagnostic accuracy of the former is significantly better. Given it won't be a cheap test anyway, so if they say PET alone, I'd ask hard questions about why it can't be done at a facility with the hybrid technique. Even on the weekend, you may be able to call radiology and ask if they have a hybrid PET-CT scanner. >> This information is very helpful, thank you! His PET scan is >> scheduled for Tuesday morning. We'll know more then (I assume they [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Even on the weekend, you may be able to call radiology and ask if they > have a hybrid PET-CT scanner. To be honest, he'd probably be freaked to know I inquired about this, especially on a newsgroup! He's a bit um... well, I can't describe him but he doesn't like folks butting into his business even with the best intentions. I *do* know his primary care physician so perhaps I can give him a call on Monday (I have to call anyway about a refill on my meds) and see what exactly he referred him for. I'm listed on the HIPAA forms as someone to whom medical information can be released. Then again, since he already had the CT scan his insurance company may not pay for the hybrid PET-CT without a fight. You know how that goes. It's a PPO so to get full benefits he has to go to a specific radiology group in a specific hospital. But I'll ask his (our) doctor. Jill > Before I left on my trip, Scott called me early one morning to say he was > very ill. He had been sick for 4 days. That morning he got up to take a [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Jill I'm late in replying, but I've been working and not on the computer. How awful to have to deal with this and your father's illness as well. My entire fur-family is purring for yours. {{{{{{{{ Hugs }}}}}}} kili > Before I left on my trip, Scott called me early one morning to say he was > very ill. He had been sick for 4 days. That morning he got up to take a [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Jill Lots and lots of purrs and best wishes for it to be benign and for your brother to stop smoking, Polonca and Soncek >Before I left on my trip, Scott called me early one morning to say he was >very ill. He had been sick for 4 days. That morning he got up to take a [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > >Jill Jill, I'm so sorry. I hope Scott will be okay. Purrs for him and you and the family. Ginger-lyn Home Pages: http://www.moonsummer.com http://www.angelfire.com/folk/glsummer (homepage & cats) http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~summer/index.htm (genealogy) http://www.movieanimals.bravehost.com/ (The Violence Against Animals in Movies Website) OMG, Jill! Mega-purrs on the way for Scott. SignatureSam, closely supervised by Mistletoe Purrs on their way for good news Lesley Slave of the Fabulous Furballs |
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