Pregnant & worred about husband's PET Scan

Hi,
I am currently 20 weeks pregnant and my husband just had a PET scan today. The doctors told me to "stay away" from my husband for "a few hours" because he is radioactive. One of them even said to use a different toilet and don't go near him for 48 hours. This is impossible, since we only have one bathroom in our apartment. Does anyone know how long the radioactivity stays in the patient? Thanks in advance.

-Christine

I am unsure how long it lasts but I would pay attention to dr.s orders. My sister-in-law was pregnant and her Dad could not be around her when she came home for the weekend. Crazy isnt it? Better safe than sorry!

I am unsure how long it lasts but I would pay attention to dr.s orders. My sister-in-law was pregnant and her Dad could not be around her when she came home for the weekend. Crazy isnt it? Better safe than sorry!

I want to follow the orders (and so does my husband) but it is difficult to do so when we keep getting different information from different sources. How could it possibly stay at dangerous levels for very long? Wouldn't that be a public safety risk? What if he goes out in public? They said he could do anything and go anywhere this afternoon. So frustrating not knowing this answer on top of waiting for the scan results.

I think the concern here is your unborn baby; they are worried that something will get absorbed through the skin.

My suggestion would be to keep disinfecting wet wipes in the bathroom; make sure you keep wiping the door handle; faucet, toilet lever & seat. I also wouldn't sleep in the same bed. When my hub was fighting oral cancer I could smell the chemo coming out of his pores; I used to regularly spray the shower down with clorox clean up. Get a mattress pad; I think Target has the decent ones cheap- they have a nice one that is water proof but not only plastic so it's not uncomfortable to sleep on & can be washed. I used to change the bedding (not mattress pad- spray with lysol & let it air out) every other day i think. I also changed his towel every 2 days & changed hand towels as much as I could.

I'm sure you're stressed. We knew my hub had oral cancer but didn't know where the primary was. I remember the stress like it was yesterday. What type of cancer do they think your hub has? When do you get the results of the scan?

Also my mom was told she should flush the toilet twice since it was the only toilet in the house after her chemo treatments. She did that and disinfected the bathroom

On Jan 15, 2011 8:17 PM Roselvr wrote:

I think the concern here is your unborn baby; they are worried that something will get absorbed through the skin.

My suggestion would be to keep disinfecting wet wipes in the bathroom; make sure you keep wiping the door handle; faucet, toilet lever & seat. I also wouldn't sleep in the same bed. When my hub was fighting oral cancer I could smell the chemo coming out of his pores; I used to regularly spray the shower down with clorox clean up. Get a mattress pad; I think Target has the decent ones cheap- they have a nice one that is water proof but not only plastic so it's not uncomfortable to sleep on & can be washed. I used to change the bedding (not mattress pad- spray with lysol & let it air out) every other day i think. I also changed his towel every 2 days & changed hand towels as much as I could.

I'm sure you're stressed. We knew my hub had oral cancer but didn't know where the primary was. I remember the stress like it was yesterday. What type of cancer do they think your hub has? When do you get the results of the scan?

I am a thoracic surgeon (who happens to be pregnant with number 2) I know this is a little late for you as your post was jan- but here are the facts in case any one is reading this ( my patients nearly all have pet scans). This not the risk of infection or passing a chemotherapy agent etc- no washing or wiping will make any difference. A pet works by labelling glucose with a radioactive component - this component then decays producing gamma rays. The gamma camera of the pet scan then picks the gamma rays which are concentrated in the areas which are using the most glucose - ie most metabolically active. This includes brain, heart and also cancer( hence why it is used). Its half life is relatively short (110mins)but the person will continue to produce gamma rays for a number of hours ie 50% 110mins-25% 220mins- 12.5% at 330 mins etc until all has decayed. It is excreted in the urine hence the urine will also decay at the same rate. The risk is gamma rays to the developing foetus - by approx 6-8 hours post injection of the glucose the amount left is small and hence the radiation risk but in the first few hours the risk is high. Hope this helps.