Hi Joyce,
I was in something of the same situation a couple of months back - I'd completed what they had hoped would be my complete chemotherapy treatment, but my doctor was out of the country on vacation. I strongly recommend contacting another oncologist to interpret the results for you. I went to go see another medical oncologist at another hospital who specialized in Hodgkin's.
Do you have a copy of the actual PET scan images? If you can load those up on your computer, sometimes that can give you a fair idea of what's going on - it's a little more tangible than the paper report (which confuses me too).
I was lucky in that I received copies of my PET scans on disc, along with every printed out paper report. This was a request I made of my doctor/hospital, and I think sometimes it costs more, depending on the policies of the hospital. If you can get them to give you DIACOM discs, they usually load up ok on a regular PC.
They never showed up as crisp and clear as they do on my doctor's computers, but I was able to take a peek and look for hot spots (bright yellow), showing strong growth activity in the cancerous/tumorous spots, and was able to gauge the remaining size of my tumors.
From my own conversations with my doctor about PET scan reports, I can tell you only what it sounds like to me from my own reports:
"1. Interval complete metabolic response of multiple previously described foci of hypermetabolic malignancy"
- Based on what I saw with my reports, it sounds like this is saying that the cancerous areas are still metabolizing the radioactive sugars, so the cancerous areas have not abated.
"2. Diffusely increased uptake in the bone marrow, reactive in nature."
- This looks like they're reporting that there may be some spots in the bone marrow that are showing increased activity in response to the PET scan solution.
"3. Mild diffuse uptake in the lungs, with associated interstitial changes, likely representing post-treatment/inflammatory changes."
- This looks like they saw some activity in the lungs that is most likely part of the inflammation that can be caused in those treated with Bleomyacin. Your doctor may want to send your husband in for a pulmonary function test if this concerns him.
One thing to keep in mind (because every set of PET scan results made me fret) is that there are many treatment options. One PET scan that doesn't yield positive results can just be a sign that a different action needs to be taken. ABVD was found to be ineffective treating my Stage 3 Hodgkin's, and after four months of ABVD, I was switched to Escalated BEACOPP, which was highly effective for me.
I'm not a doctor by any stretch of the imagination, I'm just hoping to offer any information I can based on my own experiences. I really recommend that you talk to your cancer treatment center about other doctors in the area who might be able to see you on short notice, just to help you determine your results. Be sure to bring a disc copy of your PET scan images, along with your report (if you're visiting a doctor at a different hospital. Doctors in the same center should be able to access PET scans on file.). If they are unable to set you up with another doctor to review your PET scan results and ease your mind, they may be able to schedule you some time to discuss the report with a pathologist, just so the terminology is more clear.
Hang in there. It's a long and arduous fight, but there are ups with the downs. I know we're all here for you both.