How a PET scan saved my life stories
FPC
Essential Questions



How has society been influenced as our understanding of the atom has changed?
In what ways have the advances in our understanding of the atom had positive effects
on society?
In what ways have the advances in our understanding of the atom had negative effects
on society?
BACKGROUND
A PET scan is a medical test that people sometimes undergo to check their health. PET
stands for Positron Emission Tomography. Positrons are very similar to electrons except
that they have a positive charge (instead of a negative charge). The development of this
complex machine was made possible because of the work of scientists studying the nucleus
of atoms. Through experiments, positrons were discovered and then applied to create this
machine.
Read the stories below to get a sense for how a PET scan has impacted the lives of some
people.
KIM PIERCE
Kim Pierce knew something wasn't right, no matter what the mammograms, sonograms,
and doctors said. She had an unmistakable lump in her breast. Her doctors agreed, but the
imaging studies showed nothing amiss.
"For two years I complained about a lump I had found in my breast," said Pierce, now an
administrator in the department of molecular medicine at the University of California, Los
Angeles. "The people at the breast center in San Diego said they would watch it, but they
thought it was nothing. I had four mammograms and two sonograms in that time, and
nothing showed up."
Recruited to a U.S. Department of Energy position at UCLA, Pierce had another mammogram
and another sonogram, both of which showed no evidence of a suspicious lesion. Her new
physician shared her concern about the palpable lump, however, and recommended a
biopsy.
"I mentioned the situation to my boss at the DOE lab, and he suggested that I get a PET
scan," Pierce said. "I had never heard of PET. My boss told me about how it actually
measured biology and was totally different from other imaging studies. This was in 1991,
and PET wasn't being used clinically for cancer. I went into a research protocol and had a
PET scan. Sure enough, the lump lit up like a Christmas tree and it was huge."
A biopsy revealed an infiltrating lobular carcinoma. Pierce subsequently had a double
mastectomy.
"Given the type of cancer I had, the chances were good that I would have gotten it on the
other side within two years," she said.
Today, almost a decade after her PET scan, Pearce is convinced the scan is the reason she is
alive.
Highlight or underline the
question that this article
belongs to
Notes and questions to
support your understanding
of the article
"If I had stayed in San Diego and continued to listen to people who wanted to watch and
wait, I would be dead now," she said. "Part of the problem is that mammography does not
pick up lobular or infiltrating lobular breast cancer. It also was not picked up on the
sonogram, which was very disconcerting to me. Realistically, PET saved my life.
"Breast cancer absolutely changed my life, and PET imaging played a big role in that
change," she said.
ROBERT YOUNG
At age 44, Robert Young was living the American dream. Life was sweet at work, where he
ran a successful marketing agency, and at home in the western suburbs of Los Angeles,
where he lived contentedly with his wife and two sons.
The first jolt in what became a major life crisis came when Young's brother died of liver
cancer. Three months after the funeral, Young invested in a PET scan as part of a routine
physical exam to make sure he was not destined to follow this brother's path. The PET exam
indicated that Young had already taken the first fateful steps in that direction. It uncovered
multiple colonic polyps and a growth indicative of cancer.
"Had it not been for that one test, maybe I would not be here today. I owe my life to timely
treatment and detection," he said.
"I had a stress test a couple of years before, and I came through that just fine," he said. "I
didn't have a clue that I had such a serious problem. If I had waited for two or three weeks,
until my trip was over, I might not have been alive."
"I have absolutely no doubt that I am alive today because of that PET scan," he said.
DAN HUTCHINSON
In the midst of what might be considered the best years of his life, Dan Hutchinson's world
turned topsy-turvy with the news that he had Hodgkin's disease. Complicating his particular
situation, Hutchinson had a suspicious spot on his right lung. The primary disease was in
the lymph node on the left side of his neck.
"Everyone pretty much ruled out an appearance of Hodgkin's in my right lung because it
was clear below the diaphragm on the right side, and Hodgkin's disease always runs
unilaterally down one side of the body or the other," said Hutchinson, a lawyer by training
and currently in semi-retirement with thoughts of becoming a writer.
Multiple CT scans failed to provide evidence that the shadowing on his right lung was
Hodgkin's disease. Nonetheless, Hutchinson had nagging doubts, despite assurances from
his doctors. With strong encouragement from Hutchinson, his oncologist decided to request
a PET scan to make absolutely sure what he was dealing with before starting treatment.
Hutchinson was about to start radiation therapy when he had the scan.
Not unlike other cancer patients' experiences, the lesion in his right lung "lit up like a
beacon" on the PET scan, he said.
"(The scan) obviously changed the disease staging and the treatment plan," he added. "It
made a huge difference in the course of my treatment, a really dramatic effect from a clinical
perspective. If my treatment had gone forward on the basis of what the CT scans showed,
the radiation therapy would have not done anything for the disease in my lung. If left
untreated, the Hodgkin's in my lung would have spread."
Notes and questions to
support your understanding
of the article
"The experience has made me focus more on my personal life, especially my three children,"
he said. "I just spend more time enjoying life. After an experience like this, you tend to see
life from a different perspective. I was already going in that direction, but this sort of
accelerated the process. It made me stop and think about what I really wanted to do with
the rest of my life."
The experience has also taught Hutchinson lessons about difficult decisions that confront
physicians and their patients.
"My primary physician is a highly regarded oncologist, and even though he was certain the
spot on my right lung was not Hodgkin's disease, he put my well-being first and let me have
the PET scan," Hutchinson said. "That's important. I know that everyone has to exercise
common sense and you can't always have all the diagnostic or treatment modalities that
might be available. But in my case, I am glad my doctors went ahead and did the PET scan,
despite the additional cost, because it likely saved my life."
Source: http://www.diagnosticimaging.com/dimag/legacy/PET/stories/000603.html
Instructions for gathering evidence for the Socratic Seminar
1. Determine if this article is a PRO or CON
2. Identify 1-2 pieces of evidence to support your position and write it in your
PRO/CON list in your notebook
Vocabulary to look up to guide your reading
Mammogram- _____________________________________________________________________
Sonogram- _____________________________________________________________________
Palpable-_____________________________________________________________________
Biopsy-_____________________________________________________________________
Infiltrating Lobular carcinoma– _____________________________________________________________________
Double mastectomy-_____________________________________________________________________
Disconcerting-_____________________________________________________________________
Hodgkin's disease –_____________________________________________________________________
Lymph node - _____________________________________________________________________
Diaphragm-_____________________________________________________________________
Oncologist- _____________________________________________________________________
Beacon- _____________________________________________________________________
CT scan-_____________________________________________________________________
Notes and questions to
support your understanding
of the article