Patients shudder when their physicians mention the possibility of cancer. Approximately 1,284,900 new cancer cases are expected in 2002, according to the America Cancer Society. 555,000 of those cases resulting in death. [Please take look at the ACS website at www.cancer.org] Cancer affects Americans of all racial and ethnic groups and kills more people annually than AIDS, accidents and homicide combined. About 8 million Americans alive today have a history of cancer, and only 553,000 -- or 4 out of every 10 patients who get cancer this year -- are expected to be alive 5 years after their diagnosis. Widespread use of PET is expected to dramatically improve this statistic through resulting earlier intervention and treatment.
	Normal body cells grow, divide, and die in an orderly fashion replacing worn-out or dying cells and repairing injuries. Sometimes these normal cells begin to grow uncontrollably. These abnormal cells outlive the bodies normal cells and continue to grow and divide forming new abnormal cells. The mass of extra cells forms a growth or tumor, which can be benign or malignant. They are not cancerous. Benign tumors can be removed low probability of recurrence and are usually not life threateing. But if the tumor is malignant it is cancerous. In a process called metastasis, cells from a malignant tumor can break off and travel to other parts of the body via the bloodstream or lymphatic system where they begin to grow and replace normal tissue. Cells from a malignant breast tumor can spread to another organ, for example the brain. Although these cells are in the brain, the cancer is still breast cancer.
		Early intervention is PET's most important benefit. The earlier the detection, the likelier the cure! Prior to changes in structure that normally would show up on a CT or MRI scan, a PET scan can reveal metabolic changes in the body. How? PET is a metabolic imaging technique and cancer is a metabolic process. PET shows whether or not a tumor is benign or malignant. No other imaging technique can do this! Reports in the scientific literature find that PET correctly identifies detected lesions 97% of the time. Painful, invasive surgery, such as thoracotomy, may no longer be necessary for diagnosis. PET shows the extent of disease -- called staging -- of lung cancer, colorectal cancer, melanoma, head and neck cancer, breast cancer, lymphoma and many other cancers. For patients whose cancer is newly diagnosed, it is important to determine if the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, so that appropriate treatment can be started. PET can search the entire body for cancer in a single examination, called a "whole body scan", revealing any metastases as well as the primary site. PET shows the effectiveness of therapy. It is an excellent test to monitor for recurrence of disease. One ovarian cancer patient had a PET scan when a blood test indicated a rise in her tumor marker levels but subsequent CT and MRI scans were still normal. Only the PET scan showed new cancer. After treatment, a subsequent PET scan revealed the cancer was gone.