Lymphoma
Oncology (cancer) experts encourage PET scans for potential lymphoma patients, and cite these important reasons:
- Early detection of disease
"PET is a more sensitive indicator of the presence of disease than other imaging studies."
Leonard Prosnitz, M.D.
Professor of Radiation Oncology
Duke University Medical Center
- Precise Staging of Disease Progression
"PET can detect disease that’s not detectable by any other technique, and it lets the clinician know exactly where disease is so that appropriate therapy can be instituted."
R. Edward Coleman, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Duke University Medical Center
- Accurate Assessment of Therapy
"There is also data to show that, during the course of therapy, PET can very accurately predict whether or not that therapy is working. Therapy takes several months to administer and is expensive. If it’s not working, a lot of time and money are wasted."
R. Edward Coleman, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Duke University Medical Center
Beyond it’s initial value in aiding diagnosis of lymphoma, PET helps answer the questions "Does the patient need more treatment or not?" and "Does the patient have a good prognosis after this course of therapy." PET, combined with CT, offers the most accurate answers we have yet to these questions, and provides the patient with important information in making decisions about their treatment program.
Ask your doctor or oncologist for more information about PET scans and their usage.
