So you may be asking this question to yourself. When should I get a PET Scan? Why would I need one? Firstly, it’s called a positron emission tomography scan or PET scan for short. “We tend to use them commonly in things like lung cancer, head and neck cancer, lymphomas,” explained Dr. Kristina Mirabeau-Beale, a radiation oncologist.
It’s called a positron emission tomography scan or PET scan for short. “We tend to use them commonly in things like lung cancer, head and neck cancer, lymphomas,” explained Dr. Kristina Mirabeau-Beale, a radiation oncologist on the medical staff of Lee Health.
When are They Needed
PET scans are used to help doctors find where cancer is located. During cancer treatment, patients may undergo additional PET scans to determine how well their body is responding to treatment. Sometimes a patient gets a PET scan after they’ve had a certain constellation of symptoms and if we see a mass somewhere that has a lot of pet uptick we will divert that patient to get a biopsy.
Using a radioactive tracer, a PET scan will clearly show physicians any abnormal cells in the body. “We’re able to look at the patient’s whole body globally and really see if there’s any cancer hiding somewhere,” said Dr. Mirabeau-Beale.
PET scans can also be used for cardiology or neurology patients—but if doctors are searching for brain cancer or slow-growing cancer, they may decide to use an MRI instead. “PET dye doesn’t necessarily show us detailed brain images of the brain to identify a primary brain cancer, so we will often have to get an MRI,” she explained.
If a patient is experiencing symptoms, doctors will determine the best test to help find the problem and get patients the right treatment.
Hollywood Diagnosticss Center has been recognized as a leader in the medical Diagnosticss field while performing over 30,000 Diagnostics procedures annually. This includes the echocardiograms discussed in this article. The center continues to be at the forefront of medical technology by progressively updating its equipment and procedures to reflect the latest advances in medicine. HDC is your complete, one source provider of all Diagnostics services.
If you require for any reasons an MRI, a PET Scan, a mammogram, ultrasounds of any kind, an EKG or even a bone density scan, this is the center that can take care of all of those tests and needs and more. You can even request an appointment by clicking RIGHT HERE!