What is a PET scan?
A positron emission tomography (PET) is a special type of CT scan. It uses low-dose radioactive glucose (a type of sugar) to measure the activity of cells in different parts of the body, where cells are more active than normal this can indicate cancer.
PET scans are used to:
- Help find out if a tumour is cancerous (malignant) or non-cancerous (benign).
- Help find out if cancer has spread to other parts of the body.
- PET scans can also be used to examine any lumps that remain after treatment to see if they are scar tissue or whether cancer cells are still present.
Having your PET scan
A very small amount of a mildly radioactive substance is injected into a vein, usually in your arm. A scan is then taken a couple of hours later. You will be asked to visit The Freeman Hospital in Newcastle or James Cook Hospital in Middlesborough for your PET scan. We will soon have this facility available on the South Tyneside site.
