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PET
or Positron Emission Tomography is
a very new type of scan that can actually see how body tissues and
organs are working and not just what they look like. PET images
show the chemical changes of an organ or tissue, unlike X-ray, CT,
or MRI, which show only body structure.
PET Scanner is one of the most
powerful and accurate diagnostic imaging machines available today.
PET uses special "radioactive tracers," which helps to
reveal more about the biochemical activity at the cellular level
of a disease than other types of imaging techniques.
The word ` tomography' comes
from the Greek word `tomos', which means a section or a cut. PET
displays cross-sectional images in any plane and effectively pinpoints
the source of many of the most common cancers. It is very accurate
in differentiating cancerous (malignant) tumours from non-cancerous
(benign) tumours. Sometimes a CT scan or MRI may show that there
are still some signs of a tumour but they cannot determine if the
tumour is cancerous or not.
For the millions of people suffering
from cancers, the PET scans can
- identify the stage of cancer
at initial diagnosis and areas of cancer spread,
- determine what combination
of treatment is most likely to be successful in managing a patient's
cancer.
- decide whether a cancer can
be operated on or not.
- can be used at the end of
treatment, to show the difference between scar tissue and active
cancer tissue.
- shows the progress of disease
and monitors how the body responds to treatment such as chemotherapy
and radiation therapy. This can help reduce or avoid the cost of
ineffective treatments or unnecessary hospitalisation.
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