PET CT Onco Cancer Chemo

What is PET CT?

PET – CT Scan can be defined as a combination of a CT scan and a PET scan. The CT scan takes a series of x-rays from all around your body. The PET scan uses a mildly radioactive drug to show up areas of your body where cells are more active than normal. You usually have a PET-CT scan in the radiology department as an outpatient. A PET CT Scan usually takes between 30 and 60 minutes.

When will you be advised to get a PET CT Scan?

PET-CT scans are for many types of cancer. They are generally thought to be more accurate in diagnosing cancer than PET scans alone. PET-CT scans can help:

• Diagnose cancer
• Stage I cancer, so doctors know whether it has spread
• Decide whether you can have surgery to remove your cancer
• Decide which is the best treatment for your cancer
• Find the place in the body where you cancer first started to grow (primary cancer)
• Check whether your cancer has come back

A PET-CT scan can also show how well a cancer treatment is working. After you have had treatment for cancer, a scan may show an area that looks like there might still be some cancer left. This might not be cancer but scar tissue left over from cancer killed off by your treatment. A PET-CT scan can sometimes show whether this tissue is active cancer or not.