Scans? I've had 'em all!

Hello everyone,

It has now been one week since my diagnosis and it has been busy! Apart from having to tell everyone I know (a bigger job than I anticipated), I have had to have some scans and whatnot to assess the staging of my tumour and to check that the cancer hasn't spread to my bones.

So Monday I had a bone scan and a CT scan and today I had an MRI scan. They all sound very fancy but the reality is they are just rather unpleasant procedures where people poke and prod you and make you lie still for 20 minutes at a time (very difficult as you always feel the need to scratch the end of your nose or something for no apparant reason).

For the bone scan you have to go in, be injected with radioactive isotopes into a vein and then wait 3 hours for them to get into your system. This is so that when they do the scan if there are any other cancerous cells they will show up. In between times, rather than wait around in a dull waiting area I went to have the CT (computerised tomography - do NOT ask me what it means, I have no idea!!!!). For this one they make you drink a manky cup of water that tastes like bonjela and then some more water. You have to change into a lovely hospital gown (yuk! now I feel sorry for the patients that I make wear these every day). Then they stab you in the arm so that they can inject some iodine into you later. The CT scanner is like a donut that whizzes around really fast around you, well, the machinery inside whizzes round but you can see it. It's a little bit noisy and they ask you to take a big breath and hold it, then release a few times. When they inject the iodine it makes you feel warm all over (a bit like you've weed yourself. The weirdest thing is that your bits feel all warm). I thought I was OK with the injection but it made me feel a little bit sick and I thought I was going to be sick while I was lying there. I tried to concentrate on breathing and being calm and when they took me out of the machine, I retched a few times and spat up some saliva like you do when you're about to puke. Luckily I didn't actually throw up but it was weird for me as I don't often get nauseated and if I do then I usually throw up. I guess it's just a sensation I'll have to get used to.

So with that done, Ashley and I went to see the girls in the Day Surgery that I work with and then went to have lunch in the park. Ophelia joined us aswell (in time for cake!) and we all went in for the bone scan.

The bone scan machine is not as bad as the CT as they don't make you feel sick but it is basically an X-Ray of your entire body with you lying down and a plate below you and one above you. The problem with it is that the top plate (it's about a foot square piece of metal) has to come down over your face and it is CENTIMETRES from your face. Not good if you feel a bit claustrophobic. It's open at the sides so you can breathe. Again, it is all about closing your eyes and breathing and trying to stay calm. The plate moves over your body after about 5 minutes and the whole thing takes about 20 minutes. Not too bad at all. Also you get to keep your clothes on!

Today I had the MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging - they kind of fire magnetic rays at you and they make a pretty pattern when they hit things - OK, I don't really know). I knew this one wasn't going to be nice, I have taken patients down to have MRIs and I know how blinking loud that machine is. Friends assured me that it wasn't that bad, they don't inject you with anything, just relax etc etc etc....

Ha! Well, it was into a sexy hospital gown again, this time open at the front - mmmm attractive! The tables they make you lie on for these machines are TINY. I mean they are narrow and I'm not a narrow person so I always worry that I'm going to fall off. In fact, they are designed for people of all shapes and sizes so it's fine, just a bit disconcerting. Well, I had to have another venflon in my arm and another injection of contrast dye for the scan. This is because breast tissue is just that, tissue, it is not bone and does not easily show up on scans without some sort of contrast dye. Also, they were doing the MRI to look at the stage my tumour is at and get a really good idea of what size and shape it is before they go in to cut it out.

So, I have to lie on the table, face down with my boobs hanging through two holes! It was totally weird and I laughed when they told me what I had to do. At least I have plenty to go through hee hee!
The machine is LOUD, really loud and the hole (it is another donut shaped machine) is SMALL!!! I honestly thought I wouldn't fit in and it was a bit of a squash. The radiologists were fab and I had headphones on and they put on some Foo Fighters for me (yay!). I did get them to take me out one time and rearrange me because I dropped the squeezy thing (it's like an alarm for when you really panic). So I panicked because I had dropped the squeezy thing, wriggled about a bit and they came to my aid. It was a bit better after that, I relaxed a bit, sort of dozed off and tried not to concentrate on everything that felt itchy. Your arms are pinned to your side so it was very awkward when your nose itched!

With that over, I feel that a weight is off a little bit. I am seeing Mr D next Wednesday for the results of all those tests and to discuss surgery. The Breast Care Nurse today said the provisional date was the 18th but we'll see for sure on Weds.

Anyway, that is it for the time being, I am trying to prepare the flat as best I can for post-surgery so my bed is finally up and I am going to set up my room for recuperation purposes.

Lots of love to all and thanks for all your messages of encouragement - it is really really appreciated

Liz
xxxx