PET-CT PET-CT
A small amount of radioactive sugar tracer is injected, then imaged to show where uptake is high, fused with CT for location.
What it can show
Areas of high metabolic activity across the whole body. Commonly used for staging and assessing treatment response.
What it cannot show
Not every lesion takes up tracer, and not every uptake is disease — inflammation takes it up too. Results must be read with the clinical picture, never alone.
This is the half people skip. A normal result answers one question, not every question.
Tell the staff before you start
Pregnancy · breastfeeding · diabetes on medication · close contact with small children or pregnant women planned that day.
Also bring the full list of every medicine and supplement you take. Things bought without a prescription belong on that list too.