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Denise has over 30 years of varying experience in the healthcare arena. In August 2009 she joined The Global Resource for Advancing Cancer Education as one of its first employees. She has grown with the organization and now oversees the operational movement of programs, efficiency, and effectiveness within the organization, as well as the daily processes and functions.
For our 12th video in the GRACE Spanish Lung Cancer Library, 
Dr. Brian Hunis, Medical Director, Head and Neck Cancer Program, Memorial Cancer Institute, Miami, Florida, joined GRACE to discuss the basics of Lung Cancer for Spanish-speaking patients and caregivers, in this video Dr. Hunis explains what a PET scan is.
TRANSCRIPTS - Spanish and English
¿Qué es una tomografía por emisión de positrones (PET)?
El PET scan, en realidad, son dos tipos de estudios en uno. En gran parte del mundo, el estudio significa hacer un estudio de medicina nuclear (el PET scan) y un estudio de diagnóstico que es el CT scan o tomografía computada.
Al paciente se le da una inyección intravenosa de azúcar radioactiva que funciona como energía, nuestro cuerpo no conoce otro tipo de energía que no sea la azúcar (glucosa). Entonces la idea es que las células cancerosas, como crecen más rápidamente que las células normales, van a captar esa glucosa radioactiva y el PET scan que es un estudio de medicina nuclear va a poder capturar cuanta glucosa están capturando esas células en esa parte del cuerpo. Entonces el PET scan nos da una idea de actividad y el CT scan o tomografía nos da una idea de localización.
Cuando una fusiona esas dos imágenes, nos da la imagen perfecta con localización y actividad, con lo que uno puede determinar cuáles son las posibilidades de que esa lesión sea cancerosa o no.
What is a positron emission tomography (PET scan)?
A PET scan, is actually two types of studies combined in one. In most parts of the world, this procedure involves doing a nuclear medical study (PET scan) and a diagnostic one which is the CT scan o computed tomography.
The patient receives an intravenous injection with radioactive sugar that works as energy. Our body only recognizes sugar (glucose) as energy, so it accepts it easily. The idea here is that cancerous cells, because they grow faster than normal cells, capture the radioactive glucose and in the PET scan (nuclear medical study) we can see how the cells are taking the glucose in certain parts of the body. So, the PET scan gives us an idea of the activity and the CT scan or computed tomography gives the location.
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