Q: I was recently diagnosed with lymphoma, and my doctor says that I need a PET/CT scan. What is that?
A: A scan by PET/CT — positron emission tomography coupled with computed tomography — is a diagnostic imaging test to detect different types of cancers, including lymphomas. It is useful not only to find out the stage of the cancer, but also in assessing response to therapy. For a PET/CT scan, a small amount of radioactive substance is injected into a vein. The substance, mostly radioactive glucose, shows how cells and organs in your body are working. Since cancer cells tend to use more energy than healthy cells, they absorb more of the radioactive substance.
— Dr. Saima Muzahir, Tennessee Interventional and Imaging Associates; member, Chattanooga-Hamilton County Medical Society
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