Positron Emission Tomography - PET imaging is a diagnostic procedure used to visualize metabolically active tissues. All living cells utilize glucose to live and make the building blocks of life. Some cells metabolize glucose faster than others. Cancer cells are hyperactive and divide quickly and therefore metabolize the injection of the radioactive tracer FDG faster than normal cells. The low level of radioactivity from the FDG can be detected by the PET scanner and then generate images for diagnosis and treatment.
The PET scanner uncovers disease sooner and more completely, which may otherwise go undetected. Please carefully follow any preparation instructions given to you prior to your PET scan. Dietary instructions are particularly important since eating before your exam can significantly decrease the absorption of the FDG tracer. In turn this will decrease the amount of radioactivity uptake in abnormal cells and generate a suboptimal scan.
Before your scan you will receive the FDG injection after which you must wait comfortably and quietly for 30 – 60 minutes for your body to metabolize the tracer. The tech will then escort you to the PET scanner and ask you to lie on the table that will pass slowly through the PET scanner. Frequently a CT scan is performed immediately after the PET scan in the same room. You may resume your normal diet immediately following the procedure. Since FDG degrades quickly so that 90% of the radioactivity has left your body or decomposed before you leave our facility, family members are not at risk for exposure. Your physician will inform you of the results. Let your technologist know if you:
- Are diabetic
- Have eaten anything prior to your scan
- Are pregnant, think you might be or are breast feeding
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