Diagnostic Imaging

Nuclear Medicine Scans and PET Scans

Nuclear medicine provides doctors with painless and safe techniques to image the body and gain information to prevent, diagnose and treat disease.

One type of nuclear medicine—a PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scan—is an effective way to examine the cellular activity in certain parts of the body, which may help detect abnormalities in those areas. PET scans are most often used in cancer diagnoses or to determine if an abnormality seen on a CT scan is suspicious for cancer or not. Cancer cells show up as brighter spots on PET scans because they have a higher metabolism rate than normal cells. PET scans may be useful in determining the extent or spread of cancer, how well the cancer is responding to treatment and if the cancer has returned.

Some types of cancer that can be detected by PET scans include:

• Brain
• Breast
• Cervical
• Colon
• Esophageal
• Lung
• Lymphoma
• Melanoma
• Pancreatic
• Thyroid

Schedule

Schedule a Nuclear Medicine or PET Scan appointment.