A positron emission tomography (PET) scan is a diagnostic examination used to detect cancer, determine the stage of cancer, and evaluate the effectiveness of cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Oncology Hematology Care operates PET scanners in these offices:
You also may be referred to a nearby hospital or imaging center if PET scanning is required for your care.
In a PET scan, radioactive sugar molecules are injected into the body. Cancer cells absorb sugar more quickly than normal cells, so they light up on the PET scan. A PET scan is often used to complement information gathered from a computed tomography (CT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or physical examination. An integrated PET-CT scan collects images from both PET and CT scans at the same time and superimposes the images.