Ellen

You are right to be nervous about a PETscan since your husband had base of tongue cancer. HEADS UP, that there is a 50 % chance or better (worse) that the Petscan may cause you both unnecessary worry and fear by falsely indicating that the cancer is back when in fact it is not. I've ranted about Petscans a lot here especially for BOT, but bottom line is that a petscan cannot distinguish between the sugar uptake in the normal recovery process for the base of tongue area cells and the cancer. They work a little better for other types of oral cancer but are dismal for BOT due to the high SUV of those normal cells recovering from radiation. They are working hard on better FDG solutions tailored for BOT but they are not there yet. FDG uptake is not tumor specific. It can also be seen in healthy tissue or in benign disease as inflammation or posttraumatic repair and could be mistaken for cancer.
So I join in wishing you a clear Petscan but don't panic if it purports to show something. Just get a reliable MRI.
Keep the Faith
Charm