PET Prep

I SURVIVED!!!!! 

I've made it over the first hurdle of this ICE chemotherapy. I apologize for not typing as much during that ordeal, but I was not kidding in my last post when I said I was "sleeping the days away". Besides the occasional visits from my friends and family, I was so drugged up on Benadryl and other things that I slept through it entirely. Most of the hospital trip was a blur, and I didn't feel comfortable posting something in that state.

Even the return home was unbearably tiring. The first two days I literally spent in bed. Every part of my body ached, and I had absolutely no energy to do just about anything. Simply going up a flight of stairs was enough to cause my head to spin. The nausea was under control thanks to the two strong anti-nausea meds I was living off of. However, I hear that the next round will be harder, as the chemo naturally builds up over time...and I still have two cycles waiting for me.

Along with the anti-nausea meds, I'm back to giving myself daily injections. Unlike the fertility treatment shots I was on two years ago, these are mainly to keep my white blood cell count up. My immune system is completely shot down with this chemotherapy, and to prevent hospitalization, I need to take a shot every night. Thankfully there isn't any bloating and I haven't experienced any changes in hormones. I also get away with any pain by applying an ice cube to the spot just before the pinch...so I really shouldn't complain...but it's become such a chore.

So here I am recovering from the aches and pains...which is no small feat. To celebrate this moment, my doctor scheduled a PET scan to see how I'm responding to treatment. I am not going to jinx anything on here, but I will say this...I have a very good feeling about the upcoming results. I can feel it...

Then this morning while doing the necessary labs for the scan tomorrow, I realized...I never did explain what the PET scan process is to you all who have never had one. Let me enlighten you...it's quite the process. A PET scan is a positron emission tomography which uses nuclear medicine to capture full body images. As I said I went to do "necessary labs" this morning...necessary as in a pregnancy test. You can't undergo something with THAT much radiation if you have any chance of being pregnant. Even though I'm on a shot that makes pregnancy almost impossible, I still have to be tested. Naturally, my social life (or lack of one) has become an ongoing joke between me and the radiologists.

Tomorrow I have to report to the radiology department after fasting all morning and afternoon (my appointment is late in the day...yay...). Once I'm called back and vitals are taken, I'm led to a tiny room with a reclining chair. The technician then proceeds to prick my finger to test my blood sugar. If it's too high then I can't proceed with the scan, but that has never happened (and hopefully never will). Then they set up a temporary IV and leave the room to get the radioactive dye used for the scan. The dye comes in a metal casing...almost like it's top secret or something. I always joke that it's going to give me super powers for the day...because you know they've heard that joke a million times. Haha!

Once it's injected, the technician reclines my chair, turns off the lights, and instructs me to take an hour nap. I'm not allowed to talk, read, listen to music, etc...nothing stimulating so the dye can circulate in my body without any issue. Once the hour is up I'm told to use the restroom and then report to the CT machine. The scan itself takes about 30 minutes to do and they capture images from the head down. The images not only show what your organs look like but how they are functioning, and any cancerous activity is easier to see under this scan. Unfortunately, the scan cannot be repeated too frequently due to the amount of radiation involved...so it may be another month until I can get it again. Hopefully, by that time, I might be looking forward to proceeding with a transplant come March! You never know, right?

So that's the gist of what will happen tomorrow. I have a very good feeling about this scan, and I'm SUPER eager to see what the results are. Despite how toxic and harsh this chemo is, something about it just feels right...like it's meant to be. I just hope I'm right and that I've made the right decision. I'll let you know in the next few days when the results are in.