PET Scans Recommended after Cervical Cancer Treatment
When you think about getting a preventive
body scan, it's usually because you want to try and catch a disease early in its progression. However, body scans are frequently used after a disease has already been caught and treated. The post-treatment scans help to make sure that the treatment was successful. Alternatively, they can let patients know if additional treatment is required to eliminate the problem. As such,
PET scans are
being recommended for women who have had treatment for cervical cancer.
Patients who return to the doctor three months after treatment for cervical cancer can undergo a full body scan to determine whether or not they are in the clear. PET scans are used in place of
MRI or
CT scans because the tumors that are unique to cervical cancer show up best on these types of scans. In addition to making sure that additional treatment is not necessary, this can give significant peace of mind to patients who have undergone the traumatic experience of dealing with this kind of cancer.
Studies have shown that these PET scans are a reliable indicator of the success of treatment and the patient's hope for a cancer-free future. Additionally, such PET scans can provide useful information to doctors for the development of new treatments to aid future patients.
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