Wayne Memorial offers PET/CT scans

Called ‘Invaluable’ for cancer patients Honesdale — The new year will bring a new service to Wayne Memorial Hospital. Beginning Jan. 11, the Hospital will offer PET/CT Scans—positron emission tomography with computer-assisted tomography. This imaging procedure, used to determine the location and stage of cancerous tissue, can help prevent unnecessary surgery, biopsies and inappropriate treatments. “PET/CT will have a major impact on our clinical evaluations of cancer patients, and in many cases will enable physicians to begin treatment earlier and increase the odds for successful patient outcomes,” said Samuel Choi, MD, chief radiologist at Wayne Memorial Hospital (WMH). The precise images obtained with PET/CT are not available with other technologies, such as X-ray, MRI, or CT alone. The PET/CT equipment combines or “fuses” the images of a PET scanner (metabolic function of cells) with the CT scanner (anatomic location of body structures) into one extremely detailed image. Wayne Memorial sees approximately 300 cancer patients annually. Recently, the hospital brought Dr. Iftikhar-Ahmad Shahid Chouhdry, a board certified hematologist/oncologist, on board fulltime to treat cancer and blood-disorder patients and oversee the WMH Chemotherapy and Infusion Clinic. Dr. Chouhdry is thrilled with the new PET/CT at WMH. “To provide state-of-the-art treatment for cancer patients, a physician must be armed with the Pet Scan in his own institution,” Dr. Chouhdry said, “and, our patients should not have to travel long distances to get this invaluable service.” The PET/CT scans, offered through Insight Imaging, a mobile medical imaging service, will be available every Monday. A physician’s order is required for the scan. Questions regarding the new PET/CT service, patient instructions and scheduling can contact the WMH Imaging Services Department at 570-253-8186.