What Is Pet Scan? How It Work And When Is It Done?

INTRODUCTION

Health is a relative state in which one can function well physically, mentally, socially, and spiritually to express the full range of one’s unique potential within the environment in which one lives. Nowadays, people generally deal with health problems or diseases. The disease is an abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function of all parts. of the organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often medical conditions associated with specific signs and symptoms. Diseases refer to the progression of disease progress over time with the absence of treatment. Diseases can be caused by several factors like environmental, genetic mutations, infections, and lifestyle. So these diseases can be detected and there are various tests like blood tests, Stool Tests, Urine Tests, X-RAYS, MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), and PET Scan.

WHAT IS PET SCAN?

A PET (POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY) Scan is a medical imaging technique that uses a radioactive tracer to create 3D images of the inside of the human body. This scan helps to detect the early signs of Cancer, Heart Disease, and Brain conditions. PET Scan uses a safe, injectable radioactive material, Fluorine 18 Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG). FDG is a version of glucose, a sugar. This Scanner detects the diseased cells that absorb large amounts of radioactive tracer. In this scan, doctors can see changes at the molecular and cellular levels.

This Scan helps to see the physical change in the exact location. It is useful in the diagnosis of

• Cardiology: Determine the heart muscles.
• Neurology:  Determine Diseases like Alzheimer’s Disease, Dementia, Brain Tumours, Seizures and Stroke.
• Oncology:  Determine the extent of the tumors and growth.

TECHNIQUE / PROCEDURE

When scheduling a PET Scanner, the physician will require you to follow a strict diet up to 12 hours before the appointment. A typical PET Scan is as follows

BEFORE 12 HOURS OF THE APPOINTMENT

1. Low carbohydrate diets like hard cheese, tofu, eggs, butter, and vegetables with low starch.
2. Some foods are not allowed like milk, pasta, bread, and sugars.

BEFORE 6 HOURS OF THE APPOINTMENT

The patient is not allowed to eat 6 hours before the scan, you can drink water. PET SCANNER involves the following procedure

1. At the beginning of the PET Scanning, the patient is made to sit on a chair and a small amount of radioactive material called FDG is injected into a vein in your arm. This will not make you differentat all.
2. During this period the patient is not allowed to talk or walk. The patient should sit in a relaxed state so that the radioactive material travels in the patient’s body.
3. The patient is made to lie down on a table and the PET Scanner moves through the body so that the image is clear. This test thus takes an hour.
4. After the PET Scan, the patient should stay away from pregnant or breastfeeding ladies for at least 6 hours due to remnants of radiation which will diminish after some time.

HOW IT WORKS?

FDP (fluorodeoxyglucose) when injected intravascularly (IV) in the vein of the arm, travels to different parts of the body, organs, and tissue. During scanning it creates a picture of the active organs, system, and how it is functioning rather than its structure which helps doctors to identify cell abnormalities that use more energy than a normal cell and cancer cells use more glucose than normal cells.

WHEN IS IT DONE?

PET SCAN helps to identify various diseases in the organ and system like

Heart, Blood Vessels, Lungs, Bone, Brain, Tumor and its extent.

Specifying the cancers and tumors that are

1. Brain Cancer – PET scanning helps diagnose brain cancer and its stages.
2. Lung Cancer – PET scanning helps diagnose lung cancer.
3. Breast Cancer – PET scanning helps in detecting breast cancer to what extent it is spread and how it is responding to the treatment.
4. Esophageal Cancer – APET scan helps to diagnose esophageal cancer and its stage.
5. Colorectal Cancer – A PET scan helps to diagnose colorectal cancer and its stage.
6. Melanoma – This scan helps detect the melanoma stage and its recurrence after the treatment.
7. Lymphoma – This scan helps in detecting the lymphoma-affected areas which are the spleen, bone marrow, and liver.

RISKS/ ADVERSE EFFECTS

There are some potential risks due to exposure to radioactive material.

1. Injection site discomfort – Some people might experience slight pain and swelling at the sight of the injection which subsides quickly.
2. Allergic Reaction – Althoughit’s rare, Allergic reactions are handled by experts.
3. Radiation Exposure – There is impact on other people from those who have undergone PET Scan and advised to stay away from them for max 24 hours.
4. In Pregnant Ladies – Pregnant ladies should not undergo a PET Scan as it uses radioactive material for detecting cells, organs, and systems and it should be avoided in pregnant ladies and breastfeeding mothers.
5. In Claustrophobic Patients – You might feel uncomfortable, to go inside a tube-like scanner.
6. Other Symptoms – There can be other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, headache, dizziness, warm flushed sensation, and metallic taste in the mouth.

PET SCANNER COST?

PET Scan can cost around 10,000 – 35,000 which varies in different cities and facilities.

HOW AYURVEDA HELP?

Ayurveda mostly uses nutrition, lifestyle changes, and natural treatments and uses a range of techniques to treat illness and encourage well-being. It not only provides relief but also cures the underlying cause of the problem that leads to the disease. It helps to manage many problems like heart-related, autoimmune diseases, and neurological disorders, and herbs balance our three doshas (Vata, Kapha, and Pitta). So, therefore, it is better to take advice from Ayurvedic doctors from Planet Ayurveda where we have experts helping to treat the patients using natural herbs. Book your appointments at www.planetayurveda.com

CONCLUSION

In this article, we read about different diseases like heart-related, environmental, genetic mutations, or lifestyle-induced. And how to identify such diseases either by blood test, Urine test, X-rays, CT Scan, or PET Scan. In this article we talked about PET Scan and its technique, how it works, and its adverse effects. PET Scans help in diagnosing lung cancer, brain cancer, esophageal cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, lymphomas, and melanomas. PET Scans do have adverse effects on the body. So it is much better to use natural herbs which help in purifying the blood and improve digestion which leads to various diseases.