ATLANTIC GENERAL HOSPITAL'S REGIONAL CANCER CARE CENTER TO OFFER PET/CT SCANS

Berlin, Md. – The Regional Cancer Care Center at Atlantic General Hospital announced today that it will begin offering PET/CT scans this month with a new PET/CT system (positron emission tomography combined with a computer axial tomography), which offers early and highly accurate detection of cancer.

PET/CT is an imaging procedure that provides physicians with information about the body’s chemistry, cell function and exact location of disease. The precise images obtained with PET/CT are not available with other technologies, such as X-ray, MRI, or CT alone. The difference lies in the ability of the PET/CT equipment to combine or “fuse” the images of the PET scanner (metabolic function of cells) with the CT scanner (anatomic location of body structures) into one extremely detailed image.

This combination of the metabolic information from PET and the anatomic information from CT places PET/CT at the forefront of cutting edge technology allowing physicians to more accurately stage and treat patient disease processes.

For oncology patients, PET/CT is used to determine the exact location and stage of cancerous tissue and can prevent unnecessary surgery and biopsies and inappropriate treatments.

“Providing PET/CT right on our hospital campus will give patients and their physicians easier access to the imaging necessary to best monitor and treat their cancer,” said Michael Franklin, president and CEO of Atlantic General Hospital. “It’s another step toward the completion of the John H. “Jack” Burbage Regional Cancer Care Center, which will open in May 2018.”

Atlantic General will begin offering the new service next to the Atlantic Health Center at 9714 Healthway Drive, in Berlin, on May 18, 2017. A physician’s order is required for PET/CT scans.

About Atlantic General Hospital

Atlantic General Hospital has been providing quality health care to the residents of Worcester, Wicomico, Somerset (Md.) and Sussex (Del.) counties since May 1993. Built through the commitment and generosity of a dedicated community, Atlantic General’s main facility in Berlin, Md., combines the warmth of personalized attention with the reassurance of medical expertise and advanced technology. The not-for-profit hospital provides quality specialty care in oncology, medical and surgical weight loss, orthopedics, and women’s diagnostics among other services. Atlantic General Health System, its network of more than 40 primary care providers and specialists, cares for residents and visitors throughout the region. For more information about Atlantic General Hospital, visit www.atlanticgeneral.org.