CLEVELAND -- Every moment Hillary Harper spends with her family has new meaning, according to Health Reporter Alicia Booth.

Harper has been dealt a tough hand. At 36, she was forced to face breast cancer. It was an advanced form that spread to other parts of her body.

"I cried for two days and then my husband told me, that was enough, time to start fighting it, get up, start battling it, and I did," Harper said.

To know which treatment was best for her, she had to get a handle on exactly how much the cancer had spread. That's where a positron emission tomography or a PET, scan at University Hospitals played a role, Booth said.

PET scans pinpoint exactly where cancer is anywhere in the body. This helps the doctors know how to treat the patient.

The technology is not new, but the fact that Medicare is now covering the cost is new.

"Fifty percent of patients with breast cancer are in the Medicare population and as our population ages, I think it'll be used more and more," said Dr. Peter Faulhaber of University Hospitals. "And I think it will help a tremendous number of people get better therapy than they do now."

The scan showed Harper's cancer had spread to her spine and to one of her lungs. The results were worse than doctors expected.

"It's good to know, from head to toe if there's something going on inside (because), we can't see it," Faulhaber said.

Booth reported despite the chemotherapy, Harper looks and feels good. She has confidence that she's getting the right treatment.

"I want to be here as long as I can and I think this has really helped me," Harper said.