PET scanning comes on the heels of other major advantages in diagnostic imaging.

PET scanning can help determine whether a lung mass (tumor) or enlarged lymph node is cancerous.

PET scanning may also be used after treatment to see how well the treatment worked.

PET scanning can be used to look for areas of the liver, adrenal gland, or bone that may show where lung cancer has spread.

PET scanning is a useful tool to allow the imaging of brain physiology.

PET scanning is non-invasive, but it does involve exposure to ionizing radiation.

PET scanning is one of the most promising techniques for cancer detection and has applications in monitoring heart disease.

PET scanning may be particularly useful in demonstrating unsuspected areas of involvement in the spleen and bone.

For patients treated with chemotherapy alone, PET scanning should be performed a minimum of 3 weeks post therapy completion.

For patients whose last treatment modality was radiation therapy, PET scanning should be performed 8 to 12 weeks post radiation.