Just a note I would add in agreement with Ed's comment and in particular to head and neck cancer. When diagnosing, a PET scan does have issues with false positives because of the uniqueness of the way that the salivary and swallowing functions occur.

The doctor explained that unlike most any other part of the body, the functions that are happening in our mouths an throats cause the cells to burn more energy thereby uptaking a more significant amount of glucose than cells in other parts of the body. Because the PET scan is looking for the rapid uptake of glucose it will sometimes show bright areas in the head and neck region that are not cancerous but that appear on the scans because of the normal functions of this part of the body.

This goes in line with why the docs must wait for a significant period of time after treatment to do these tests since the treatments can also cause the cells to become hyperactive with glucose intake and the readings are not of much value.

Ultimately I must agree with Brian. There is not a single test or tool that can tell you everything you need to know. It is the old whole is the sum of its parts routine. By using multiple tests that have their individual advantages, the docs can get a fuller and clearer picture and that is the best way to tackle cancer in my opinion.

Harry is going for his second PET scan (first since completing treatment) and they will do a CTscan as well. They also do regular blood tests and then the doctor puts all of this information together to determine if things are rolling along fine or if something needs to be addressed.

Harry said once that while he hates doing so many tests he finds a peace of mind that they are getting the whole picture the more they do so he does them all.

Good Luck!

Cindy