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1rarebird · 07-29-2010, 05:28 PM

CoolBreeze-- You raise a good point. I too have noticed a large variability in the treatments that posters to this board report for very similar cases. On the other hand, there are some cases where the treatment regimens match very closely. And for an individual case, you can many times find varying opinions among the doctors that attend to you as to what is the best course to follow. In my case, 2 of my doctors believe in scans and the third one does not. However, I found that the more clinical experience the doctor has, the less likely she is going to follow the guidelines verbatim. My radiologist told me that everyone wants to practice evidence based medicine, but they should never loose sight of the individual patient's circumstances and treat accordingly. He said that's called "practicing medicine"; and he is one of the two that recommended I get the PET scans. Apparently, 30 years plus of practicing oncological radiology has made him very cautious. A lot of this cancer stuff is the luck of the draw, I'm beginning to conclude.

bird

07-29-2010, 05:28 PM	#38
1rarebird Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: TN Posts: 175	Re: Pet Scan for Stage 1? CoolBreeze-- You raise a good point. I too have noticed a large variability in the treatments that posters to this board report for very similar cases. On the other hand, there are some cases where the treatment regimens match very closely. And for an individual case, you can many times find varying opinions among the doctors that attend to you as to what is the best course to follow. In my case, 2 of my doctors believe in scans and the third one does not. However, I found that the more clinical experience the doctor has, the less likely she is going to follow the guidelines verbatim. My radiologist told me that everyone wants to practice evidence based medicine, but they should never loose sight of the individual patient's circumstances and treat accordingly. He said that's called "practicing medicine"; and he is one of the two that recommended I get the PET scans. Apparently, 30 years plus of practicing oncological radiology has made him very cautious. A lot of this cancer stuff is the luck of the draw, I'm beginning to conclude. bird __________________ Male Breast Cancer, DX 5/15/09, IDC, STAGE 1, 1.7 cm, HER2+++, ER+(95%)/PR+(75%), Ki67 40%, grade 3, 0/5 nodes, TX: mastectomy, TCH finished 7/19/10, radiation 6 wks., Tamoxifen on going, bisphosphonate 24 mos.