Good for you, Petey. You worked hard to get to this point. You can finally begin the real road to recovery. It will be difficult, but you've had difficult times before and have come through them. I have a feeling that you are in better shape to fight this battle than some in your past. You keep on showing that old Petey spirit. You're gonna be ok!

No, a PET scan is not an MRI. The PET scan is usually combined with a CT. The PET shows very clear images of soft tissue growth but it doesn't show the locations very exactly. The CT shows the other structures, so in combo they show what is there and exactly where it is.

For the PET, they will give you a radioactive glucose solution by IV. This tagged glucose will be taken up by tissues with the highest metabolism. For this reason, you are not to eat before the test, nor should you exercise. NOR should you chew gum or talk excessively in the hours before the test, since you want your mouth muscles to not be over-exerted. You want the test to be very accurate and to pick up the cancer clearly. The same goes for the rest of your body. Just take it easy before the test and follow their directions.

And, as always, keep us posted.