The Taber Family Blog

I had my first Pet-CT scan on Friday at Northbay in Fairfield and I’m anxious for the results. The scan took about 2 1/2 hours, but most of that was preparation, including having the radioactive sugar injection and waiting for an hour while it made its way through my body. Sitting in the “quiet” room for an hour, resting comfortably. After the that I was placed on the scanner for about 30 minutes.

Example Pet-CT Scan - NOT MINE

The way this particular scan works is based on the fact that cancer cells feed on sugar (glucose), so when the radioactive sugar is coursing through my body, the Pet-CT scan will expose where high concentrations of sugar are located. There are normal places in your body where sugar concentrates, such as the brain, kidneys and bladder, but in cancer cases, seeing other places “lighting up” is not typically a good sign.

After the scan was complete I asked the technicians if they could tell me what the results were, and although I knew what the answer would be, I still thought I’d ask. Since they’re not my doctor, they can’t discuss the results with me, but I could take a peek at the images on the computer. I took a quick look at several images, including those of my head and I couldn’t see anything lighting up anywhere in the images. I’m very hopeful about what I saw, but the final say will be up to my doctor this week when I meet him on the 17th. Needless to say I was very encouraged that my treatment was successful!