Diagnostic Testing

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Diagnostic Testing

We have onsite radiology imaging (PET and CT scans) and a lab to help make diagnostic testing timely and convenient. Whether you’re coming to us because your doctor suspects you may have cancer or if you’ve already been diagnosed, we’re here to help you through the process. We’ll ease your mind by explaining everything that will happen, how long things will take and when you will hear the results.

Time frames for lab tests or scan results are:

Medical imaging/scans: 48 hours
Tumor markers: 48 hours
Bone marrow: 5-7 days
Pathology reports: 5-7 days

Our Lab

You may need regular blood or urine tests throughout your treatment to learn more about how your cancer is affecting other parts of your body. These tests give us valuable information to help us know how best to treat you and keep you as healthy as possible during the treatment process. We can:

Establish baseline measurements before you begin treatment so we can compare future treatments to your original results
Determine which treatment may be appropriate
Verify that a treatment has been effective
Find subtle changes during routine check-ups before you develop symptoms of a disease
Find clues that may indicate the reason you are experiencing symptoms
Monitor the cancer to see if it has gotten better, stayed the same or gotten worse

PET/CT Scans

An integrated PET/CT scan is the most advanced imaging technology for the detection and evaluation of cancer. A PET/CT scan provides images of the entire body and generates high-resolution images of abnormal activity and its location. Abnormal activity often takes place before physical changes are identifiable by other types of imaging such as MRI, CT, x-ray and ultrasound. The scan detects primary and secondary disease earlier and more accurately than other imaging technology. Before having a PET scan, your doctor may order a series of x-rays, MRIs or CTs. Our team will work with your doctor and insurance payer to determine which test is most appropriate based on your diagnosis and symptoms.

Our doctors use PET/CT images to:

Identify disease often before it shows up on other exams
Determine whether or not the cancer has spread (the stage of the cancer)
See how the body has responded to chemotherapy, radiation therapy or surgery
Eliminate ineffective or unnecessary surgical or medical treatments
Detect recurrence of cancer early.

Our PET/CT technologist will bring you from the waiting room to a small, private and comfortable room. You will receive an injection of a small amount of radioactive glucose (also known as sugar) through an IV in your arm. You may feel a “warm” sensation when the radioactive glucose is injected. Then you relax and wait for approximately an hour while the radioactive sugar circulates in your body. After about one hour, our technologist will position you on the scanner. The PET/CT scan takes about 30-45 minutes. The radioactive sugar is short-lived and will leave your body quickly, it is important to drink plenty of water following your scan to flush the sugar out of your body.
During the scan, you will be exposed to a minimal amount of radiation, however, we believe the benefits of the information provided by the scan outweigh the small potential risk. Please let us know if you have any concerns about this exposure.
Typically, you will get scan results in 48 hours.