Shortage of surgeons?

[Cathy1]

Hi! Is there a shortage of surgeons or something?
They don't know if I have an infection in my chest and under my arm or if it is cancer. The petscan showed something but the doctor said he didn't know what it was. I am getting a biopsy, but have to wait another two weeks for it. Is that the normal amount of time? Meanwhile, I am not on an antibiotic if it is an infection and it makes me nervous not being on a strong chemo. I am on herceptin and femara.
I had cellulitis in that arm at Thanksgiving and I think that's when this all flared up. Plus I have stubborn rashes on the other side under my arm, on c-sction scar and under breast, that the doctor called inverted psoriasis.
Now I can't wait to get the biopsy. Do you think I should try to go to another hospital?
Also- who would be knowledgable about cellulitis, infections, etc. Is there another site I could check out?
Also I am leary of petscans now. My friend has asthma, arthritis and liver problems and her onc said she would never give her a petscan because she has so many problems that she would light up like a Christmas tree.
Thanks for your help and God Bless you all! Cathy

[Lani]

they don't want to put you on an antibiotic if it is an infection as, IF it IS an infection, they don't know what bacteria produced it. If they did give you an antibiotic it could be the wrong one and then when they took cultures during your surgery it is likely that nothing would grow on the Petri dish even if it wasn't the right antibiotic and they would have no idea what antibiotic to give you.

PET/CTs are notorious for leading doctors/patients on wild goose chases and at the last ASCO they recommended that they only be used to follow response to treatment in metastatic disease rather than looking for recurrence (many patients unduely worried and many unnecessary tests done--often involving a great deal of radiation ( and money, of course)

If you had a fever or lots of white blood cells on your blood test (a sign of infection) I am sure they would be in a much bigger hurry.

Perhaps since you have such a variety of unusual findings (rash, history of cellulitis) you might feel better if you got a second opinion. Otherwise, you might ask your doctor to refer you to an infectious disease specialist who could give you his/her opinion on the likelihood it is an infection and who could follow the results of the cultures taken.

It sounds, however, that if you just asked your doctor more questions and insisted they be answered eg, why don't you think I need surgery sooner, what other things could cause the PET/CT to light up and what tests could be done to check them out short of surgery,etc. you might feel more at ease.

I know of a case where the PET/CT lit up in the breast and an MRI was ordered (besides an ultrasound) and was felt to be definitive enough (in light of the fact that the
patient had no fever, pain, tenderness or increased white blood cells on blood testing) that no further testing was deemed necessary for 3-6 months and it proved to be nothing.

Increased muscular activity, bruising and many other things can cause PET.CTs to light up (who knows, maybe even sleeping on ones stomach and
bruising the breast that way)

Remember Tom's mom's PET/CT lit up in all sorts of places--and she died of other causes without her cancer ever having recurred.

Hope some of this helped!

[MJo]

Cathy -- Hope it's an infection. I lit up in four places on my CAT scan. Thankfully it was arthritis. Got misdiagnosed with a blood clot on a lung scan due to inflammation from asthma. Scar tissue, infection, arthritis -- it's all good news after you have cancer. I am still be willing to take the tests, though, now that I have baseline scans. Take it easy. Saying a prayer for your sister.