My husband is a Paramedic/Firefighter and has been for 20 years. He's also a bio-hazard trauma/crime scene technician. Back when he first became a paramedic, he worked at a station with 12 other people. 4 of those people are now dead, from cancer, and 3 others had cancer that is now in remission. A few years ago while doing fire training, my husband, as well as others, were exposed to asbestos while razing a building. As a result, my husband has been having regular cancer screenings, every six months at least. His tests have all been negative, until today. His doctor told him there was a problem with his liver and pancreas and told him to come back in 60-90 days to do another cat scan. Why would the doctor wait 60-90 days to do another test? Isn't it important to catch things in early stages, as to promote remission, should it be cancer? My husband is high risk to begin with and said he does not want to wait. My question is whether it is standard procedure to wait so long? If so, why?

Should we get a second opinion, or just schedule a laproscopy? What kind of doctor should he see? Would it be an internal medicine doctor? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

Please get a second opinion. This will help alleviate any concerns you have about his condition. An internist would be a good start.

I agree that he should get a second opinion, but the reason they wait 60 - 90 days is that they need to see if there is a change in the radiology (xray if you will). They want to see if there is growth or reduction. And invasive procedures, even laporoscopy, will be done when there is significant reason to believe there is a problem.

It does happen, but rarely does a cancer grow in significant proportions in 60 - 90 days.