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Husband pet ct scan

Emmalou
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Hi new here

im after a bit of advice please 

my husband has a lump in his neck on the left and it's a reasonable size golf ball size?

he was sent for a biopsy in may and we didn't hear a single word back!

yesterday he received an appointment letter he's been referred for a PET CT scan!

neither of us knew what it was so we looked it up and the majority of articles said it's to see if your cancer has spread anywhere!

incoming panic we ring the hospital they wouldn't tell him the results even though they were in and the consultant had seen them as he requested the scan

we ring the hospital where the scan is due and they said they couldn't see his results just that the consultant requested it due to the result being inconsistent? I think that was the word they used.

the lump has been there for years and he's had several blood tests every single one has been normal so I suppose what I'm asking is if the bloods are normal and he's had no symptoms of any illness since the lump has been there so we need to panic? Would something like that show on blood tests? Would it have spread causing symptoms if it's been there for years?

thank you for reading

Parents
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    I forgot to add in his notes from the consultant before the biopsy it says it's mobile if that makes any difference 

    thank you

  • Offline in reply to Emmalou

    No idea about the rest, but no, cancer doesn't always show up in bloods. Bloods are usually looking for elevated proteins, inflammation markers, hormones etc, and a lot of people never have anything whether that be the aforementioned or anaemia.

    My wife had extensive breast cancer, and her bloods have always been textbook perfect outside of chemo.

    Even with certain elevated tumour markers, it doesn't mean anything without further tests and ultimately a biopsy, though, as it can be something benign. Bloods just give a general indication if there's maybe something obvious, if treatment is working in those who have been diagnosed, and things like that. They aren't a diagnostic tool when it comes to solid cancers.

    Things work a little bit differently with blood cancers.

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  • Offline in reply to Emmalou

    No idea about the rest, but no, cancer doesn't always show up in bloods. Bloods are usually looking for elevated proteins, inflammation markers, hormones etc, and a lot of people never have anything whether that be the aforementioned or anaemia.

    My wife had extensive breast cancer, and her bloods have always been textbook perfect outside of chemo.

    Even with certain elevated tumour markers, it doesn't mean anything without further tests and ultimately a biopsy, though, as it can be something benign. Bloods just give a general indication if there's maybe something obvious, if treatment is working in those who have been diagnosed, and things like that. They aren't a diagnostic tool when it comes to solid cancers.

    Things work a little bit differently with blood cancers.

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