Tests You May Need to Evaluate Pancreatic Cancer
Your doctor took a biopsy to determine that you had cancer. The doctor did this by taking a sample of cells or fluid from an area that looked suspicious in your pancreas. Your doctor needs to know the cancer’s stage, which shows how much and where the cancer has spread, in order to suggest the best treatment for you. Your doctor may have learned the stage of your cancer during diagnostic tests, such as computed tomography (CT) scan or ultrasound. Your doctor may now ask for more tests.
One test you may need is a positron-emission tomography (PET) scan. This creates an image indicating where cancerous cells occur throughout the body. This test is used only to check for cancer that has spread, called metastatic cancer.
For a PET scan, you either swallow or get injected with a biochemical. It may be glucose that carries a mildly radioactive substance. It may take a few hours to more than a day for the biochemical to reach the targeted organ. Then, you’ll lie still on a table that is pushed into the PET scanner, which rotates around you, taking pictures of where the glucose is being used in the body. Tumors are more active and use more glucose than healthy cells. A PET scan is painless and noninvasive.
Online Medical Reviewer:
Foster, Sara M., RN, MPH
Online Medical Reviewer:
Marcellin, Lindsey, MD
Last Annual Review Date:
4/18/2011
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