PET scan question

i have had about 5 now what they have done to me no sugar or anything that can make surger can be eaten for 24 hours i think might have been 48 dont rember then they put you in a room by yourself afther a while they come in and inject you with a radited glucoast and make you wait for about a 45 mintues then take you to a room where they have a scanner a lot like a cat scan and they scan from your neck to maybe waist looking for where you light up showing where the cancer is

LivinginNH said:

Hi,
No...it's not a simple

Hi,

No...it's not a simple blood test.  It's similar to a CT scan except that you need to drink a radioactive contract since it will then show cells glucose uptake.

Positron emission tomography (PET)^[1] is a nuclear medicine, functional imaging technique that produces a three-dimensional image of functional processes in the body.

A PET scan measures important body functions, such as blood flow, oxygen use, and sugar (glucose) metabolism, to help doctors evaluate how well organs and tissues are functioning.

CT imaging uses special x-ray equipment, and in some cases a contrast material, to produce multiple images or pictures of the inside of the body. These images can then be interpreted by a radiologist on a computer monitor. CT imaging provides excellent anatomic information.

Today, almost all PET scans are performed on instruments that are combined PET and CT scanners. The combined PET/CT scans provide images that pinpoint the anatomic location of abnormal metabolic activity within the body. The combined scans have been shown to provide more accurate diagnoses than the two scans performed separately.

Take care,

Cyn

Hi,

Rick had a PET-CT scan at MGH, and I forgot (it's been 4 yrs), but for this scan, he had the radioactive material administered by IV after he drank the contrast and left me the waiting room.  The drink that I mentioned was an orally administered barium contrast that was used for maximum sensitivity for his abdomen and colon tract.  He would sit with me and drink about 16oz of that horrible tasting stuff before getting the radioactive IV fluid.  It took him about 2 hrs. total for the entire procedure.  It you're just doing at PET scan, it may be quicker and you probably woudn't need to drink that delicious barium contrast. 

Best of luck with everything! 

Cyn

JanJan63 said:

Interesting...

Interesting...

Had to drink something (Rasberry, cold, actucally not too terrible) and also something via IV.  

Think that was the more radioactive portion, enough where people step away and got a card to show police or TSA.  (I had the drink for another test, where I did not get card.)  There is enough to trigger some of the sensitive equipment that the NYPD carries.    (Serious, albeit funny.  KInd of.)

One place where I was scheduled to have PET scan did have a bunch of rules about eating, but where I went was less restrictive.  Not quite as concerned about sugar, but need to go check what the instructions were.  

Otherwise the test is the same old same old, stuck in a tube.  Probably about an hour.  

Just to clarify some more.  The stuff you take orally is called Barium Sulfate.  It's used to coat the internal linings/walls of your esophagous, stomach, and intestines.  When a CT is ordered with IV contrast, this means iodine is injected intravenously to help further with organ imaging.

There is NO dye used in PET scans.  The material is radioactive glucose or fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG).  This is also part of the reason why many people push the idea that sugar feeds cancer.  And I won't get into that rat hole.  The PET picks up on the radiation from the radioactive glucose and hence why you are warned about being radiactive for about a day.  I was told I needed to stay away from children and pregnant women when I had my PET done for 24 hours.

And while we're on the subject of PET scans, I've observed many people wanting frequent scans and also insisting on frequent PET scans.  Maybe the following numbers will create some pause before you ask for that next scan again.  We all know exposure to X-rays is not a good thing due to the radiation exposure.  A chest X-ray exposes the body to 0.02mSv of radiation.  A CT scan exposes a body to 6.5 to 8mSv of radiation.  A PET alone without a CT done exposes a body to 14mSv of radiation.  And here's the big shocker, a PET/CT exposes a body to 23 to 26mSv of radiation.  The subject of scan frequency is a very personal one and one you should have with your oncologist.  Your oncologist should be setting your schedule based on your risk of recurrence versus the detrimental long term affects of radiation exposure in causing other cancers.  Due to my relatively young age, my oncologist has chosen to err on the conservative side to reduce my radiation exposure.  Hence why I have only yearly CT scans of my abdomen and chest X-rays.

Oh and I concur with always to ask for your scan images and reports.  I feel I'm fairly technical and can understand much of medical jargon I have to absorb due to my illness.  But I do draw the line that I am not a medically trained radiologist.  I have looked at my scans before getting the radiology report.  But I know ultimately, the radiology report is what I should focus on.

zx10guy said:

Just to clarify some more.

Just to clarify some more.  The stuff you take orally is called Barium Sulfate.  It's used to coat the internal linings/walls of your esophagous, stomach, and intestines.  When a CT is ordered with IV contrast, this means iodine is injected intravenously to help further with organ imaging.

There is NO dye used in PET scans.  The material is radioactive glucose or fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG).  This is also part of the reason why many people push the idea that sugar feeds cancer.  And I won't get into that rat hole.  The PET picks up on the radiation from the radioactive glucose and hence why you are warned about being radiactive for about a day.  I was told I needed to stay away from children and pregnant women when I had my PET done for 24 hours.

And while we're on the subject of PET scans, I've observed many people wanting frequent scans and also insisting on frequent PET scans.  Maybe the following numbers will create some pause before you ask for that next scan again.  We all know exposure to X-rays is not a good thing due to the radiation exposure.  A chest X-ray exposes the body to 0.02mSv of radiation.  A CT scan exposes a body to 6.5 to 8mSv of radiation.  A PET alone without a CT done exposes a body to 14mSv of radiation.  And here's the big shocker, a PET/CT exposes a body to 23 to 26mSv of radiation.  The subject of scan frequency is a very personal one and one you should have with your oncologist.  Your oncologist should be setting your schedule based on your risk of recurrence versus the detrimental long term affects of radiation exposure in causing other cancers.  Due to my relatively young age, my oncologist has chosen to err on the conservative side to reduce my radiation exposure.  Hence why I have only yearly CT scans of my abdomen and chest X-rays.

Oh and I concur with always to ask for your scan images and reports.  I feel I'm fairly technical and can understand much of medical jargon I have to absorb due to my illness.  But I do draw the line that I am not a medically trained radiologist.  I have looked at my scans before getting the radiology report.  But I know ultimately, the radiology report is what I should focus on.

by my doctors PET scans have their place but produce a lot of false positives. I had to have an ultrasound with a special device down my throat chasing a lymph node that lit up which never reappeared. I have a CT with contrast every 3 months. My doc even has a preference of machines, I now go to the same imaging center every time. I think I'll be every 3 months the first year, then every 6 months to year 3, then yearly.

Easyflip/Richard

Trubrit said:

Thank you!

Thank you, zx for this detailed post. I will stash it somewhere, and refer to it when needed. 

Sue - Trubrit

Sue,

You're very welcome.  It helps being a nerd to sift through all the technical information we all have to deal with.  Looking back at how my journey started, I'm amazed how much radiation I was exposed to when I was first diagnosed.  I had a CT with IV contrast the day after I was diagnosed through a colonoscopy.  4 days later, I'm undergoing a PET/CT.  About a week and change, I have another CT with IV contrast along with a couple of X-ray shots due to excrutiating pain I was experiencing on my left side near the site of my colon resection.  Turned out to be a kidney stone....lucky me and a great way to bring on 2013 to be in the hospital on New Years day.

With all the radiation and chemo I've been through, I'm glad my recently born daughter appears to be normal and we were lucky enough to not have to worry about doing IVF; which was another stress point in dealing with my cancer diagnosis.

NewHere said:

Ask For The Good Stuff

The things I had to drink for my two recent scans (one being a PET/CT and one a CT, two different days) was rasberry flavored and not horrific.  It is called OmniPlaque .  Sort of like Kool-Aid or Hi-C.  Ask for it chilled, they gave me a choice and I think the warm would not have been as good.  (Though both tests were prior to chemo starting, and the chill may not work as well during chemo, could take forever to drink )  There was a lot to drink, but in terms of taste, tolerable.  I am pretty good none picky eater and drinker, so that may also be a factor  

 Not quite sure why mine seems so different in terms of the drink aspect..

I'm with you on this.  The staff kept telling me to brace myself for the taste of the Barium Sulfate concoction.  I didn't think it was at all that bad.  Chilled or warm.  Now when I have my annual scan scheduled, the radiology or the oncologist office just gives me the container to drink before showing up.

Now if you want nasty, I had to drink the Barium Sulfate in just plain water when they needed me to take in more of the stuff prior to one of my scans.  Drinking just the Barium in plain water will make you all wish to have some sort of flavor to mask it.

NewHere said:

Ask For The Good Stuff

The things I had to drink for my two recent scans (one being a PET/CT and one a CT, two different days) was rasberry flavored and not horrific.  It is called OmniPlaque .  Sort of like Kool-Aid or Hi-C.  Ask for it chilled, they gave me a choice and I think the warm would not have been as good.  (Though both tests were prior to chemo starting, and the chill may not work as well during chemo, could take forever to drink )  There was a lot to drink, but in terms of taste, tolerable.  I am pretty good none picky eater and drinker, so that may also be a factor  

 Not quite sure why mine seems so different in terms of the drink aspect..

I don't like the taste at all. I mean, its not horrific, but its not good. I drink mine over a three hour period, and by the end, I'm having to force it down. 

What I do now, is every time I take a drink, I raise my cup of goop and say the name of someone from the forum who has passed away. I bet they would love to still be alive to drink the nasty goop, and I don't need to be whining. It works! I am grateful that I can have the goop and the scan and I'm grateful to be alive. 

Sue - Trubrit