Many have heard the term PET Scan or may have even had one but for those who have not, do you know what it is? PET stands for Position Emission Tomography and it is an imaging test that is used to detect cancer along with brain and heart issues in the body.
The process involves the patient being injected with a combination of sugar and a minute of a radioactive substance and the cancer cells absorb the radioactive sugar, and they show up on the scan. The cancer cells also move differently than the non cancer cells. Currently it is not used exclusively to detect breast cancer but it is used by medical professionals to ascertain :
- Has the cancer spread to the lymph nodes
- Cancer has spread and has metastasized
- Determine if the metastasized cancer is responding to treatment
PET Scans are a useful tool in the breast cancer treatment toolkit and show promise in tracking cancer in the body. Remember you have options for treatment and detection at your disposal so don’t be afraid to discuss all your options with your medical professionals. The majority of the information for this post came from http://www.breastcancer.org.
Melanin & Pink Ribbons 
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