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Forum > Cancer - Active Topics: Cancer - Active Topics

PET scan

CCoPE
Date: 2007-03-26

Question:
a patient convieved a child 1-4 days before having a PET (Positron Emissions Tomography) scan. Conception took place approx. 9 mos after a 6 cycle treatment with ABVD for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. While I we do know that the chances of complications from the ABVD treatments are extremely low. We have been unable to find what if any effect the PET scan could have on having a healthy pregnancy and baby. Do you know of any information?

Answer:
During a PET scan, a radioactive agent containing positrons is injected into the patient and the scanner reads the radiation that is emitted from the positrons. Usually after the procedure, the patient is advised to drink fluid to flush out the agent. The amount of radiation that the mother or the fetus was exposed to was likely very low. However, in order to fully ascertain the risk, the name of the agent used would be needed. The PET scan took place during the "all-or-none" period which is the 10 days post-conception where the embryo is a cluster of cells and receives no blood supply from the mother. If exposed to some agent that would have caused damage, the cells would abort and the mother would unlikely have even known that she was pregnant.

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