RESTON, Va.-The first week in October is Nuclear Medicine Week. This year, this awareness week comes just two weeks after the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released the findings of its yearlong study into the future of nuclear medicine.

The study recommended that federal funding for basic nuclear medicine/molecular imaging research be enhanced. The report recognized the importance of nuclear medicine in the care of patients with many illnesses, including cancer, heart disease, and Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. It helps diagnose disease, plan the best treatment and monitor the effectiveness of therapies. ("Advancing Nuclear Medicine Through Innovation," NAS Summary, go to http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=11985#toc)

SNM (the Society of Nuclear Medicine) applauds NAS for bringing light to the crisis in patient care that will develop if the United States lets this line of medical research fall dormant.
"Research funded by DOE over the last 50 years has led to many life-saving techniques that are now used daily, improving patients' outcomes. Positron emission tomography (PET) scans are one of the most important of these techniques. PET scans are used in the diagnosis and staging of cancer," said SNM President Alexander J. McEwan. "With proper funding, basic nuclear medicine research will continue to improve patient care through new therapeutic isotopes to cure disease, earlier diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and cancer, detection of the effectiveness of cancer therapies, development of the next generation of imaging technologies and more," added McEwan, who speaks for more than 16,000 members of the world's largest society for molecular imaging and nuclear medicine professionals.

Currently, more than 20 million men, women and children need noninvasive nuclear medicine/molecular imaging procedures each year. These safe, cost-effective procedures include PET scans to diagnose and monitor treatment of cancer, cardiac stress tests to analyze heart function, bone scans for orthopedic injuries and lung scans for blood clots.

In light of National Nuclear Medicine Week, SNM offers patients the following tips to better understand what to expect if their doctor recommends a PET scan procedure.

* What is a PET scan? A PET scan is a biological imaging exam that provides information about how a patient's cells are "behaving" or functioning.
* Why is the doctor recommending a PET scan? A single PET exam can provide information that once would have required many medical studies, and it can do so without the surgery that those studies might have required. PET scans are most often used to detect cancer and monitor response to treatment. PET scans are also used to evaluate heart disease, neurological conditions and other physiological problems.

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