If you are being treated for cancer, you need to know what
you're up against. PET/CT imaging has unique advantages that
no other diagnostic technique can match.
Positron Emission Tomography, or PET, is a powerful tool
and relatively new imaging technique used in the diagnosis
of many diseases, particularly cancer. As cancer has surpassed
cardiovascular disease as the number one health problem in
the U.S., the number of PET installations in the U.S. is
growing.
PET scans record disease processes and or changes in the
metabolic rates of tissues often before anatomical changes
are present. The technique relies upon the use of a form
of sugar (glucose) attached to a tracer that is particularly
effective in providing earlier detection of the extent of
disease. Exams are painless and non-invasive.
PET shows the uptake of the sugar/tracer combination in
living tissue and differentiates normal areas from cancer
or other disease processes. Like people, tumors like sugar,
and PET technique relies upon this fact. Simply said, it
separates areas of cancer from non-cancer. It substantially
increases confidence that cancer diagnoses are correct and
complete. PET is by far the best diagnostic tool for detecting
active disease verses non-active disease in patients. In
oncology, PET can determine benign from malignant in suspicious
area, assess tumor aggressiveness and grading, provide early
detection of recurrent tumors, monitor success of therapy
and is superior in detecting nodal spread.
PET/CT has proven to be a valuable diagnostic tool for staging,
localization and evaluation of:
- Breast cancer
- Alzheimer's disease
- Colorectal cancer
- Malignant melanoma
- Lung cancer (certain types)
- Thyroid cancer (certain types)
- Heart muscle viability
- Esophageal cancer
- Head and neck tumors
- Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma
It is reassuring to get good news after a diagnostic exam,
especially if cancer is involved. It's also comforting to
know that your health care provider uses the most state-of-the-art
technology and patient friendly imaging systems available.
Medicare has approved PET for a number of indications, and
it is approved by many insurance plans.
Radiology Imaging Associates PET/CT Scan Centers
are among the first freestanding outpatient imaging facilities
to provide one of the most advanced PET scan programs in
southern Maryland. Within the comfort and convenience of
an outpatient center dedicated to PET imaging,
fully qualified and caring staff work hand-in-hand with board
certified radiologists with advanced specialty training in
PET scan interpretation. The radiology group has proudly
served the four contiguous counties in southern Maryland
since 1977. The practice has
a network of comprehensive outpatient imaging centers serving
local communities in southern Prince Georges, Charles and
Calvert counties.
What is involved in performing a PET Scan?
You will receive injection of a radiopharmaceutical tracer
and then wait for 30-minutes to an hour for the tracer before
actual scanning can begin. Please note that Cardiac PET evaluations
do not require a waiting period before commencement of the
scan. As scanning begins, you will be asked to lie still
on a comfortable padded table that moves through a ring-like
opening of the PET scanner. Scan times vary depending on
the exam, and may take anywhere from 15 to 60 minutes to
complete. A series of images are acquired to generate diagnostic
information for the radiologist to render a report for your
physician.
How long will the entire visit take?
PET scans vary in length depending on the type of procedure
your physician has ordered. With the injection and the scan,
you should plan to spend two to three hours with us.
Any other questions? Please call
us at (301) 856-3670
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