whatdoineedtoknowaboutpetct-northfloridasouth.docVIP

Patient Education Information Sheet North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System NF/SGVHS Nuclear Medicine PET/CT Scan What is PET/CT? PET Positron Emission Tomography and CT Computed Tomography are both standard imaging tools. Doctors use them to find diseased areas in the body. The PET scan is used to find abnormal cells in your body. The CT scan provides pictures of sections of your body such as organs, tissues, and bones. The CT scan records the size, shape and location of body parts. Using PET and CT scans together allows doctors to get a better diagnosis. The images help spot cancer, heart disease and brain disorders. Why do I need PET/CT? PET/CT is a powerful imaging tool. It holds great promise in the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases, especially cancer. No tools are used that enter the body or break the skin. PET/CT records cell activity and parts of the human body in a single scan. This allows your doctor to check your entire body at once. PET/CT provides a more complete picture. It makes it easier for your doctor to pinpoint any problems. The doctor can then prescribe treatment and track progress if any disease is found. What should I know about the scan? You will receive an intravenous injection a shot in a vein of a radioactive tracer. The tracer is a liquid that allows high quality images to be taken. You will rest quietly for about 30 to 45 minutes while the tracer slowly travels through your body. You will be asked to lie on a table. The table will slowly pass though the scanner. The CT part of the test uses x-rays to take pictures of parts of your body. The PET portion of the scan creates a whole map of the body using the tracer. The scanning process takes less than 30 minutes. Common Uses of PET/CT: Oncology Determine if tumors are cancerous or not Check the whole body for cancer that may have spread Track success of therapy Find tumors that keep coming back Check the growth of tumors Cardiology Determine w