Will a ct scan show the same kind of things as a pet scan when its concerning a lung?

Different scans: A ct scan is like a fancy x-ray, from a "thousand angles" all at once, allowing for a 3-d reconstruction of what you're imaging. A pet scan reads cell growth by the uptake of a radioactive dye. This is then combined with a ct to produce the final image. However, ct and pet scans are very different technologies and used for different things, giving different results.

No: Ct scans of the thorax (lung) show the soft tissue and possibly the vasculature (blood supply) if contrast is given. A pet scan shows areas the body that have hypermetabolic activity. This means that an area that 'lights up' has high activity or is absorbing high amounts of glucose (thereby indicating increased metabolism). A ct pet combines both of these features into one test.

Not the same: Ct scan will tell you the anatomy -whether there is a mass, nodule, lymph nodes, scars etc. Pet scan will tell you about the function /metabolism of the cells. Cancer cells have rapid turnover time thus it would uptake more sugar -resulting in " glowing" on the pet scan on the area with increased metabolism-like in cancerous area, or infection. Adding pet to ct scan will give more information.

Pet/ct scan: I agree with other 2 experts. A pet scan or pet/ct combined scan is a better test for cancer staging and gives more functional information about tumor behaviour. For example in lung if there is a nodule above 1 cm, it could be benign or malignant but if it is strongly pet avid, the malignant potential increases and its also used for mediastinal nodal assessment preop.