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MRIS with endo rectal coil cost $4700 at UCSF last year. I asked Dr Barentsz why it didn't pick up my tumor and he said it was a Telsa 1.5 machine and could not see transition zone tumors very well. You need at least a Telsa 3 machine to see anything worthwhile. Also CT scans can't see PC. They only see enlarged lymph nodes over 10mm and assume they are infected. Prostascint or other PET scans are also not effective in identifying PC as the isotopes have a hard time joining with PC cells. They have no problem joining with other cancers like Breast and Melonoma. He said that they have tried various methods to ID PC with PET scans and have had little sucess to date.
JohnT
Thanks for these posts, John. Very interesting indeed.
When I read that a PET machine had been installed in a local hospital here in Melbourne, I tried to get a scan on the basis of a couple of studies I had read which implied a better result than the ineffectual MRI and CT scans.
Because it is new, there is something of a queue for the scans and it is only possible to have one with a recommendation from a medical specialist. My oncologist declined on the basis that for PCa the results were no better than other scans - and more difficult to interpret!
