Do you need a referral for a PET-CT scan?

Confirm the booking rules with the nuclear medicine or imaging service. Even where you can make the initial enquiry yourself, a clinical request may still be needed so the team knows the question the scan should address and can plan it correctly.

PET-CT combines functional imaging with detailed body imaging. The requesting clinician identifies the relevant diagnosis, reason for imaging, body area or clinical question, and timing in relation to treatment. That information helps the imaging team decide whether the requested examination is appropriate and how to prepare for it.

A scan request is not the same as a confirmed appointment. The facility may first review your medical information and provide preparation instructions tailored to the tracer and imaging plan.

Ask the facility who can submit the request and which documents it needs. Commonly useful records include the clinician's request, relevant imaging and reports, pathology information, treatment dates, a medicine list, allergies, and details of diabetes or pregnancy if applicable.

Follow the facility's food, drink, activity, and medicine instructions exactly; do not change prescribed medicines unless the clinical team specifically tells you to. Tell staff before the appointment if you are breastfeeding, could be pregnant, need mobility assistance, or have difficulty lying still.

A scheduled scan is not a substitute for urgent assessment. Seek prompt clinical advice if your symptoms suddenly worsen or you develop fever during cancer treatment, repeated vomiting, new weakness, or increasing shortness of breath.

Call emergency services for severe breathing difficulty, chest pain, a seizure, fainting, sudden confusion, or signs of a severe allergic reaction. The urgent-care team can assess you without waiting for referral processing or the PET-CT date.

Clarify what clinical question the scan is intended to answer, how it may affect the next decision, which previous images should be supplied, whether treatment timing matters, and when you should expect the report. Ask who will explain the result and what preparation applies to your appointment.