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E.'s PET scan is scheduled for May 21st.


What is a PET scan anyways? (The following information was obtained from the Cleveland Clinic.)

A PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scan is a unique type of imaging test that helps doctors see how the organs and tissues inside the body are actually functioning.

The test involves injecting a very small dose of a radioactive chemical, called a radiotracer, into a vein of the arm. The tracer travels through the body and is absorbed by the organs and tissues being studied. While lying down on a flat examination table, it is moved into the center of a PET scanner—a doughnut-like shaped machine. This machine detects and records the energy given off by the tracer substance and, with the aid of a computer, this energy is converted into three-dimensional pictures. A physician can then look at cross-sectional images of the body organ from any angle in order to detect any functional problems or "hot spots."

A PET scan is different from other imaging tests like a CT scan or a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) because a PET scan reveals the cellular level metabolic changes occurring in an organ or tissue. This is important and unique because disease processes often begin with functional changes at the cellular level and cancer consists of rapidly dividing cells. A PET scan can often detect these very early changes whereas a CT or MRI detect changes a little later as the disease begins to cause changes in the structure of organs or tissues.


E.'s Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) is scheduled for May 22nd.


What is an EUS again? (The following information was obtained from the UT Medical Center.)

As you may recall, E. had his first EUS on February 16th which determined the stage of his cancer. An Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS) combines endoscopy and ultrasound in order to obtain images and information about the digestive tract and the surrounding tissue and organs. Endoscopy refers to the procedure of inserting a long flexible tube via the mouth or the rectum to visualize the digestive tract, whereas ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to produce images of the organs and structures inside the body. Traditional ultrasound sends sound waves to the organ(s) and back with a transducer placed on the skin overlying the organ(s) of interest. Images obtained by traditional ultrasound are not always of high quality. In an EUS, a small ultrasound transducer is installed on the tip of the endoscope. By inserting the endoscope into the upper or the lower digestive tract, high quality ultrasound images of the organs inside the body can be obtained.

Because of the proximity of the EUS transducer to the organ(s) of interest, the images obtained are frequently more accurate and more detailed than the ones obtained by traditional ultrasound. The EUS also can provide information regarding the depth of penetration of the cancer and spread of cancer to adjacent tissues and lymph nodes. Additionally, the EUS can obtain tissue samples by passing a special needle, under ultrasound guidance, into enlarged lymph nodes or tumors. The tissue or cells obtained by the needle can be examined by a pathologist under a microscope.


The results of these tests will tell us how effective the chemotherapy and radiation treatments were. It will also help determine any future treatment options, including the possibility of surgery. Of course, the results of both of these tests won't be available until the following week.



Pray for good news. Pray for a miracle. Pray for E.