A Pet scan or positron emission tomography is a unique type of x-ray that can assist your doctor in determining how your tissues and organs are functioning.
Unlike other scanning methodologies, a
Pet scan does not show structural detail of organs. Instead, it shows precise images that contain intense color to provide information about chemical activity within the targeted organs and tissues. This chemical activity can indicate areas of disease that have not been detected by other scanning procedures.
Pet scanning can useful in diagnosing a number of conditions that include:• Neurological disease
• Heart disease
• Infections
• Certain inflammatory diseases
• Cancer
A Pet scan is used quite often to diagnose esophageal cancer and kidney cancer and to make treatment decisions.
A Pet scan is a relatively painless procedure, except for a mild skin prick so that a substance called a tracer can be injected. The radioactive tracer is considered to be safe, and because they break down in the body quickly. Once the tracer is given, the scan must be done immediately because the positron-emitting tracers usually lose their positrons rapidly.
Pet scan imaging is being used more and more in cancer patients and is playing a significant role in staging patients, assessing treatment strategies, and monitoring treatment effects. It is also useful in evaluating brain diseases and cardiac artery disease or what is called cardiomyopathy.
If you have a family history of any of these conditions or are concerned that you may have one of these conditions and would like to have a PET scan performed, you should discuss your options with your physician.
