Best of luck to you..I pray for all cancer victims and give thanks that I have survived for four years after diagnosis.
The PET scan has been described to me in the same way..it marks cells with high growth rate. I get my next one in Dec.
So maybe this invention is not wishfull thinking or bad science..but a real alternative to chemo and radiation.
In pure layman’s terms, this is how I understand a PET scan works. PET stands for Positron Emission Tomography. What happens is they inject you with a radioactive isotope with a very short half-life. The isotope bonds with glucose and goes all over your body in the blood stream.
Cancer cells are hyperactive in the metabolic process the glucose feeds the metabolic process. When the glucose, with the isotope riding on the molecule is metabolized, two positrons with the same electrical charge are released. With the laws of physics in force that like charges repel each other, the Positrons fly away from the point of metabolism and are captured by the device sensors and tracked back to their point of origin.
That is my understanding in the technology. The latest improvement is where they combine the CT scan and the PET scan into one procedure. This allows the CT to capture those lesions that can be seen (CT) with those lesions that may be missed. It also allows you to read the difference between dormant lesions and scar tissue from active cancers.
Does this make sense to you?
I am in my 5th year of fighting this little speed bump on life’s road. I have found my struggle to be much harder on my friends and family than it is on me. From the moment of my diagnosis, I have slept like a baby without any fear or apprehension along my path. I am doing all that I can and the rest is up to the Doctors and God. I feel very comfortable with my Doctors and God doing the heavy lifting in this struggle.
Keep the faith!