“Is there radiation in a PET scan?”
I am a 49 year old male. I want to know if there is radiation in a PET scan?
3 Answers
Yes. There is radiation from the drug injected and from the CT scan that is used with the PET in most cases. The radiation is low risk for future problems, and the benefit outweighs the risk, especially if it is being done for cancer.
Yes. PET involves injection into your bloodstream of a small amount of a radioactive isotope that is bound to an analogs of a molecule that your body normally uses, like sugar. These radioactive molecules circulate throughout your body and are taken up by specific organs, concentrating in diseased tissue. Most PET scans are done in conjunction with a CT scan, which adds another small amount of radiation, but helps better pinpointing the site of the disease.
yes
