Nuclear Medicine • MCD/FDG Exam

This examination is performed for the identification of possible cancer and for the staging and follow-up of known cancers. The study is based on the metabolism of a common sugar named glucose. Disease processes such as cancer use or metabolize glucose more than the normal tissues of the body. A radioactive glucose is given intravenously and is accumulated in areas of cancer more intensely than the rest of the body. Preparation for this exam includes 10 - 12 hours of fasting prior to the test.

After registering at the outpatient desk, a technologist will greet you and take you to the nuclear medicine department for your study. You will receive an intravenous injection of the radioactive glucose and placed in a quiet room to rest. Twenty to thirty minutes later, you will be given a medicine to help clear the activity within the bladder. After an additional 20 - 30 minutes the images will be taken. The Images taken with you lying on a table quietly as a camera rotates around you. The images take approximately 60 minutes to acquire. The images are then processed by the technologists after you have left the department. Results are available the following day.

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