Positron Emission Tomography (PET)

Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is a non-invasive procedure that produces powerful images of the metabolic activity in the human body. PET has proven to be highly accurate in diagnosing, staging, and monitoring many cancers including lung cancer, lymphoma, colon cancer, melanoma, breast cancer, esophageal cancer, and head and neck cancer. PET has also helped those with heart disease and brain disorders. Your physician is the best person to determine whether or not you can benefit from a PET scan.

The result is early and more accurate diagnosis, appropriate treatment, and closer monitoring. In addition, whole body imaging with PET allows physicians to examine most organ systems with a single scan. This may eliminate the need for multiple testing and may save patients from enduring invasive procedure.

How PET Works
A simple sugar (i.e. glucose) is labeled with a small amount of radioactive material to produce a "radiotracer" which is injected into the body. This radiotracer accumulates in tissues with high metabolic activity such as cancerous tumors. The PET scanner takes images of the body and locates cancerous tissue and can show abnormalities in the body that other imaging techniques may not detect. In fact, it's capable of detecting cancer earlier, when other imaging studies are still within normal limits.

During a PET scan, expect to be at the center for up to three hours. Approximately one hour before the study, you will be injected with the radiotracer. During the scan, you will be on the imaging table for approximately 45 minutes to an hour. Housed in a mobile trailer, MedStrar's new PET scanner is available at the MedSTar site that is most convenient to you.

Preparing for a PET scan
You cannot eat or drink for at least four hours before your PET scan and you must avoid exercise during the 24 hours preceding the PET study. If you are breast feeding, plan to use previously pumped mother's milk or formula as a substitute for breast feeding for 24 hours after the study. More detailed instructions will be provided to you by your physician office.

Interpreting the PET scan
A patient's PET scan will be studied by Good Samaritan's board certified Nuclear Medicine Physicians and board certified Radiologists. The images will be compared with previous X-ray films, and CT and MRI studies in order to generate a comprehensive reading for an accurate diagnosis. Your referring physician will receive a complete report.

Does medical insurance cover PET?
Medicare, commercial insurance, and many managed care plans include coverage of PET. Ask you physician office or insurance company for more detailed coverage information.

For more information on PET, please have your physician call 410-933-2290.