Pet Scan

I have bilateral complex cysts with a complex mass.  I am in the six week wait and see period so I have a few questions.  First, I have a ct scan next week for my annual follow up for thyroid cancer.  Would this show anything on my ovary?  It is a full body iodine contrast scan.  Also, I was wondering about a PET scan?  Would that show anything?

[xrayu2]

It sounds like you are having a PET/CT scan where they use the radioisotope and do a full body CT scan,t oo.  Yes, a CT will show your ovaries if they are scanning  thru your pelvis, too.

[DebiR]

I have to have the ct scan for my thyroid cancer but as a seperate issue I was wondering if PET scans are useful when you have a mass and want to know if it could cancer.

[xrayu2]

Pet uses a sugar and cancerous areas absorb the sugar and show as a highlighted area.  A CT uses an iodinated contrast(non-radition)to highlight blood vessels and the Ct takes slices thru the body.  A Pet CT incorporates both without iodine.

[Canyon711]

Aren't a PET scan and a CT scan different in that one uses isoptopes and one iodine contrast? I just had a abdominal and pelvic CT scan with contrast and it showed cyst..I know PET scans are much more expensive and not done everywhere.

[Canyon711]

Would a PET scan be able to tell if a cyst was cancerous? It would seem that if it could it would save a lot of unecessary cutting. Frankly I would rather pay for a PET scan myself than go thru a surgery at my age and being alone.

[xrayu2]

It is mainly used as a staging tool for known cancers.  It can show metastisized areas before anything else can pick them up.  They are very expensive and I truly do not know if they can tell for sure if a cyst is cancerous.  The only way to know that as a positive is if you have pathology ran on it.  I lnow when a nodule showed on my mothers lung the radiologists recommended a PET/CT or CT scn to further  evaluate it.  He said the PET would let him know malignancy easier than just the CT.. But, her primary care physician did the CT first and it turned out ot be okay.