I have heard from a number of you that you cannot comment directly on my blog. For the life of me I cannot figure this out. If you wish to comment and you are unsuccessful, please feel free to send me an email at CinWa39@aol.com or post on my Facebook.
Much love to all...Cindy
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012 - PET Scan
Today's buddy - Michelle
Today I had my first PET scan. Long, but uneventful. So I arrive as scheduled and the nurse took me back to a private room. First she takes a glucose reading to make certain that I am not diabetic or have too high of a glucose reading. My reading is good so she places an IV in my arm and we are off. She tells me that she is going to go get the radioactive dye and she will be right back. I swear when she open the door and was carrying a small stainless steel box that when she sat it on the counter it thunked...I though possibly we were filming Mission Impossible 4. Even more so when she removed the stainless steel cylinder that was inside the box and screwed it into my IV. None of that stuff was going anywhere except inside me. Next...three vials of saline solution and I am ready for my nap. Serious...a nap. The next step is to sit very quietly or sleep for the next 45 minutes. I was told no reading, no talking, no texting, etc. Night night big girl. After 45 minutes the nurse returns and we head into the room with the scanner. It's pretty much like an MRI machine or a CAT scan machine except it's more open. You still go in a cylinder...but being tall I could always see light. Then there are 10 series of five minute images...every five minutes the scanner moves you in. My only minor hiccup was that you have to put your arms over your head, fold them and leave them in that position for 50 minutes. Well....guess who started getting a muscle cramp in their shoulder about 40 minutes in? By the time it was over and she moved me out and said "You did a great job Cindy, you can take your arms down now"...I thought...easy for you to say.
Nurse "M" was fabulous. She explained everything...was so kind and compassionate...checked in with me throughout the scan to make certain I was OK. People like this is health care make life so much easier/better on those of us who are ill.
Results to be received next week.
Later in the day I received a text from my brother asking how things went. When I explained about the dye in the cylinder he wanted to know if I now glow in the dark. Nice one funny boy. Grin.
Today I had my first PET scan. Long, but uneventful. So I arrive as scheduled and the nurse took me back to a private room. First she takes a glucose reading to make certain that I am not diabetic or have too high of a glucose reading. My reading is good so she places an IV in my arm and we are off. She tells me that she is going to go get the radioactive dye and she will be right back. I swear when she open the door and was carrying a small stainless steel box that when she sat it on the counter it thunked...I though possibly we were filming Mission Impossible 4. Even more so when she removed the stainless steel cylinder that was inside the box and screwed it into my IV. None of that stuff was going anywhere except inside me. Next...three vials of saline solution and I am ready for my nap. Serious...a nap. The next step is to sit very quietly or sleep for the next 45 minutes. I was told no reading, no talking, no texting, etc. Night night big girl. After 45 minutes the nurse returns and we head into the room with the scanner. It's pretty much like an MRI machine or a CAT scan machine except it's more open. You still go in a cylinder...but being tall I could always see light. Then there are 10 series of five minute images...every five minutes the scanner moves you in. My only minor hiccup was that you have to put your arms over your head, fold them and leave them in that position for 50 minutes. Well....guess who started getting a muscle cramp in their shoulder about 40 minutes in? By the time it was over and she moved me out and said "You did a great job Cindy, you can take your arms down now"...I thought...easy for you to say.
Nurse "M" was fabulous. She explained everything...was so kind and compassionate...checked in with me throughout the scan to make certain I was OK. People like this is health care make life so much easier/better on those of us who are ill.
Results to be received next week.
Later in the day I received a text from my brother asking how things went. When I explained about the dye in the cylinder he wanted to know if I now glow in the dark. Nice one funny boy. Grin.
Tuesday, July 24, 2012 - Pulmonologist Appointment
Second set of ears and note taker provided by Muk
Today I had a meet and greet with my new Pulmonologist. Dr. H. is a very confident, professional, handsome guy with a sense of humor...but not too much so. He is reassuring in his demeanor and throughout the entire conversation asked if I had any questions. He also smells really good. I was so impressed that he spent the better part of an hour with me going over every detail of my CAT scans, explaining what things were, what they could be, his professional opinion and where we go from here. In his opinion it could be one of three things. 1. Lung Cancer of its own strain, although based on how it looks he doesn't believe that's the case. I guess when you are a Pulmonologist and you see as many CAT/PET scans as he does you get pretty good at recognizing things. 2. It could possibly be a fungus that is found in the SW United States. This is the first time in my life I wished I had lived some where other than Oregon. He asked in detail...have you ever lived in southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, South Carolina, Ohio....? Unfortunately...no. 3. Metastatic cancer from my Fallopian tube that has found its way to my lungs. Dr. H. is in agreement with Dr. McC. that it appears to be metastatic cancer. As there is no guessing in this...I need to have a biopsy so that they can determine exactly what I have. Dr. H. explains that it is an outpatient procedure done at the hospital. He explains that there is no general anesthia...I like this...that it is done under a sedative, the same kind they give you when you have a colonoscopy so that when it's all over and done with I won't remember a thing. He tells me the only thing I won't like is the numbing agent that they swab my nose and throat with as it tastes foul. Wonderful. I am already looking forward to not remebering. They will place a very long instrument down my nose and into my lungs...and another instrument done my throat and into my lungs. He wants to remove as much of the large nodule that is in my right lung...in my left lung the nodule he is interested in is too far down so he is going to spray some water in my lung and then suction it back out. My dear friend JW is praying that I have a fungus...she reminds me that miracles do happen.
My biopsy is scheduled for Wednesday, August 1, 2012. Dr. H. also orders a PET scan so that we have a base line scan.
Today I had a meet and greet with my new Pulmonologist. Dr. H. is a very confident, professional, handsome guy with a sense of humor...but not too much so. He is reassuring in his demeanor and throughout the entire conversation asked if I had any questions. He also smells really good. I was so impressed that he spent the better part of an hour with me going over every detail of my CAT scans, explaining what things were, what they could be, his professional opinion and where we go from here. In his opinion it could be one of three things. 1. Lung Cancer of its own strain, although based on how it looks he doesn't believe that's the case. I guess when you are a Pulmonologist and you see as many CAT/PET scans as he does you get pretty good at recognizing things. 2. It could possibly be a fungus that is found in the SW United States. This is the first time in my life I wished I had lived some where other than Oregon. He asked in detail...have you ever lived in southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, South Carolina, Ohio....? Unfortunately...no. 3. Metastatic cancer from my Fallopian tube that has found its way to my lungs. Dr. H. is in agreement with Dr. McC. that it appears to be metastatic cancer. As there is no guessing in this...I need to have a biopsy so that they can determine exactly what I have. Dr. H. explains that it is an outpatient procedure done at the hospital. He explains that there is no general anesthia...I like this...that it is done under a sedative, the same kind they give you when you have a colonoscopy so that when it's all over and done with I won't remember a thing. He tells me the only thing I won't like is the numbing agent that they swab my nose and throat with as it tastes foul. Wonderful. I am already looking forward to not remebering. They will place a very long instrument down my nose and into my lungs...and another instrument done my throat and into my lungs. He wants to remove as much of the large nodule that is in my right lung...in my left lung the nodule he is interested in is too far down so he is going to spray some water in my lung and then suction it back out. My dear friend JW is praying that I have a fungus...she reminds me that miracles do happen.
My biopsy is scheduled for Wednesday, August 1, 2012. Dr. H. also orders a PET scan so that we have a base line scan.
Friday, July 27, 2012
Monday, July 23, 2012
Second set of ears and note taking services provided by Sharon -
On Monday, July 23rd I had my follow up appointment with Dr. McC. My two insignificant nodules had become significant, the little bastards have grown, and I have three more. Bottom line, Dr. McC. believes my
Fallopian cancer metastasized and has found a new home in my lungs. Fu*k, Fu*k, Fu*k. I wasn't shocked by the results, I had felt it all along but I was overwhelmed with grief in the reality that my cancer had returned. Even as I write this I'm crying. I have had four days to process it...each day gets better...I feel as though I am off my emotional roll-a-coaster and now I am just plain pissed. I am also prepared to do whatever I need to do to beat this...again. In my discussion with Dr. McC. she voices concern about how soon my cancer has reoccurred. She is concerned that my body might be carboplatin (one of my chemo drugs) intolerant. Once I really stopped to think about what she said it made me realize that the bottom line here is that last years chemo might not have worked if in fact I am carboplatin intolerant. I can't even type my feelings on that because the authorities would come and rip my power cord out of the wall, ground me from any online access and put me in time out. Next step...Dr. McC. refers me to a pulmonologist.
On Monday, July 23rd I had my follow up appointment with Dr. McC. My two insignificant nodules had become significant, the little bastards have grown, and I have three more. Bottom line, Dr. McC. believes my
Fallopian cancer metastasized and has found a new home in my lungs. Fu*k, Fu*k, Fu*k. I wasn't shocked by the results, I had felt it all along but I was overwhelmed with grief in the reality that my cancer had returned. Even as I write this I'm crying. I have had four days to process it...each day gets better...I feel as though I am off my emotional roll-a-coaster and now I am just plain pissed. I am also prepared to do whatever I need to do to beat this...again. In my discussion with Dr. McC. she voices concern about how soon my cancer has reoccurred. She is concerned that my body might be carboplatin (one of my chemo drugs) intolerant. Once I really stopped to think about what she said it made me realize that the bottom line here is that last years chemo might not have worked if in fact I am carboplatin intolerant. I can't even type my feelings on that because the authorities would come and rip my power cord out of the wall, ground me from any online access and put me in time out. Next step...Dr. McC. refers me to a pulmonologist.
July, 2012 - Update from December...Finally!
Hello Campers!
Well, here we are...seven months since my last surgery (December 20, 2011). Yes, it actually happened and I felt fabulous afterwards. All of the nagging pain and tummy upset that I felt for months was gone. Even on the night of surgery, I was sore from the incision but that awful, awful pain was gone. Ahhhhhhh. Dr. McC. had to make a much larger incision that she anticipated as the amount of necrotic (rotten) tissue that she removed was way more than she thought. It was necessary for her to cut all the way down to my fascia, which is the layer of tissue that holds in your guts. I was on my way to recovery from a year that I never wanted to repeat.
As usual, I recovered quickly from my surgery and my 12 inch incision healed nicely. Yep...12 bloody inches. I now have 1/2 of a tic-tac-toe board. No kidding. Did I also mention that I also now have four boobs? My two were never enough, but four? Pleeeeease. In the medical community it is referred to as being dog eared. There was so much necrotic tissue in my "Port from Hell" area that is was necessary for my doctor to literally take a scoop out of my side. Imagine removing a crescent moon from your side. Oh boy.
Fast forward to February...imagine my surprise when I feel a new mass forming in my port from hell area. I let it ride until early April when I was scheduled to see Dr. McC. By this time there was a definite mass forming (feels like more necrotic tissue to me). I also have what feels like a couple of marbles directly under the incision area. When I see Dr. McC. in April she agrees that there is something in there and she sends me for a CAT scan. After receiving the results she recommends that I see a plastic surgeon to have the mass and boobs three and four removed. She feels strongly that this next surgery needs to be done by a plastic/reconstructive surgeon. Enter Dr. H. In her opinion it is more necrotic tissue. She tells me that your body isn't done making it, until it's done making it and apparently my body wasn't done making it. She also says that what I refer to as boobs three and four are an easy clean up...a little liposuction here, a little incision there and bingo! Just before going to see Dr. H. I stop by Dr. McC's office to pick up all of my medical records and copies of my CAT scans to take to Dr. H. Of course when I got home I had to sit down and read through all of my medical records. It's much uglier in writing then when the doctor tells you in plain English. I notice in the report from my April CAT scan that they found two insignificant nodules in my lower lobes (lungs). WTF! Of course a wave of panic came over me and for the life of me I have no recollection of Dr. McC. discussing this with me when she called to give me the results of the CAT scan. Long story short...I follow up with Dr. McC. and she orders a another CAT scan (as it's been three months since the last one) and schedules a follow up appointment with her on Monday, July 23, 2012.
Well, here we are...seven months since my last surgery (December 20, 2011). Yes, it actually happened and I felt fabulous afterwards. All of the nagging pain and tummy upset that I felt for months was gone. Even on the night of surgery, I was sore from the incision but that awful, awful pain was gone. Ahhhhhhh. Dr. McC. had to make a much larger incision that she anticipated as the amount of necrotic (rotten) tissue that she removed was way more than she thought. It was necessary for her to cut all the way down to my fascia, which is the layer of tissue that holds in your guts. I was on my way to recovery from a year that I never wanted to repeat.
As usual, I recovered quickly from my surgery and my 12 inch incision healed nicely. Yep...12 bloody inches. I now have 1/2 of a tic-tac-toe board. No kidding. Did I also mention that I also now have four boobs? My two were never enough, but four? Pleeeeease. In the medical community it is referred to as being dog eared. There was so much necrotic tissue in my "Port from Hell" area that is was necessary for my doctor to literally take a scoop out of my side. Imagine removing a crescent moon from your side. Oh boy.
Fast forward to February...imagine my surprise when I feel a new mass forming in my port from hell area. I let it ride until early April when I was scheduled to see Dr. McC. By this time there was a definite mass forming (feels like more necrotic tissue to me). I also have what feels like a couple of marbles directly under the incision area. When I see Dr. McC. in April she agrees that there is something in there and she sends me for a CAT scan. After receiving the results she recommends that I see a plastic surgeon to have the mass and boobs three and four removed. She feels strongly that this next surgery needs to be done by a plastic/reconstructive surgeon. Enter Dr. H. In her opinion it is more necrotic tissue. She tells me that your body isn't done making it, until it's done making it and apparently my body wasn't done making it. She also says that what I refer to as boobs three and four are an easy clean up...a little liposuction here, a little incision there and bingo! Just before going to see Dr. H. I stop by Dr. McC's office to pick up all of my medical records and copies of my CAT scans to take to Dr. H. Of course when I got home I had to sit down and read through all of my medical records. It's much uglier in writing then when the doctor tells you in plain English. I notice in the report from my April CAT scan that they found two insignificant nodules in my lower lobes (lungs). WTF! Of course a wave of panic came over me and for the life of me I have no recollection of Dr. McC. discussing this with me when she called to give me the results of the CAT scan. Long story short...I follow up with Dr. McC. and she orders a another CAT scan (as it's been three months since the last one) and schedules a follow up appointment with her on Monday, July 23, 2012.
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