This slightly blurred single image is one taken 9 days after Matt’s first treatment with Chemotherapy

Click on the image to see the full set.

It shows areas that have taken up the radioactive glucose injected a short while earlier. Cancer cells are known to be heavy users of glucose though the heart and brain also make heavy use of glucose and also show up clearly. The small intestine and bladder also show up as the glucose is eliminated from the body.

The tumours on Matt’s neck are clearly visible as well as the one slightly lower that made his voice sound very hoarse in the early days. On the larger picture there is the less obvious involvement of a large number of lymph nodes in the abdominal area together with a clear lesion in the centre of the liver.

A range of much clearer PET scan images can be found at the Radiology Dept of the University of Arkansas.