Today I had my PET Scan; it is an amazing piece of science that will tell us if the cancer is localized to my left lobe, which we hope and pray it is. Or if it has spread.
Basically they tag glucose molecules with nuclear isotopes. You go on a low/no carbs, sugar, fruits,no anything-at-all-worth eating diet for about 24 hours. And you drink horrendous amounts of water. At the imaging center they put an IV port into your arm and push this steel lined canister of
nuclear material into your arm. The cancer cells are hungrier than normal cells and so they are the first places that absorb the glucose (sugar molecules). They give you a relaxant (I am wound a little tight so they gave me 2 Xanax).
Because at this point you are, like Rhianna sings "Radioactive, radioactive" they close the door and tell you to relax for an hour. I was thinking "Yea, right", but I fell fast asleep.
Before I knew it they woke me up and put me in this machine
I was lucky - the scan was "eyes to thighs" instead of "head to toe". It moved in about 2 inch increments as it scanned and I was done in 25 minutes. Easy-peasy.
Tomorrow Dr. Aye hopefully will tell us that this scan and the PFT mean.
Thank you again my friends for all your good wishes, your help, and your support!
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