WCRC provides complete capabilities and unique expertise for oncology imaging, serving as a “hub” for information exchange, physician intercommunication and continuity of care, which is essential in cancer care. We share images and reports with all physicians and institutions involved in a patient’s care, notifying them when we spot abnormalities. Even after diagnosis and staging, we stay involved as an integral part of the cancer-care team. Referring physicians retain control; we coordinate and disperse information. This communicative team approach has a positive impact on every patient’s treatment plan.

Our radiologists are subspecialty-trained in MRI, CT, nuclear medicine, head and neck, body and breast imaging, which translates into advanced diagnostic skill and unsurpassed expertise. We also offer a full range of tests to ensure accurate diagnosis and staging, including mammography, MRI, CT, PET, nuclear medicine and biopsy.

• Positron Emission Tomography (PET) – One of our most powerful oncology imaging tools, PET is used to detect tumor cells metabolically before there are anatomical abnormalities – much earlier than with other modalities.

• Contrast-Enhanced MRI – Ideal for evaluating liver metastases, gastrointestinal tumors and gynecologic malignancies, revealing metabolically inactive cancers and liver lesions that PET often may not detect. MRI is also the best way to evaluate peritoneal metastases.

NOTE:  PET’s metabolic sensitivity helps more accurately stage certain cancers, often obviating invasive therapies when palliative procedures are more appropriate. PET is also useful for evaluating response to treatment, potentially sparing patients from uncomfortable treatments that are proven ineffectual.

To combine information about cell metabolism and anatomical structure, the radiologists at West Coast Radiology Centers can fuse PET images with images from CT and MR, including CT contrast studies.