Well...the appointments are finally confirmed. Now it is just a matter of getting through the anticipation. Friday is the big day. I will have the MUGA scan at Mercy in the morning and the PET/CT scan at the Cancer Center in the afternoon.
In case some of you are not familiar with PET scans, in a nutshell...
* PET/CT is the most advanced medical imaging technique available today, combining Positron Emmission Tomography with Computed Tomography
* PET/CT combines the fine structural detail of CT with PET's ability to detect changes in cell function. This combination allows for earlier and more accurate detection of disease than either CT or PET alone.
How Does It Work?
* Cancer cells grow at a very fast rate.
* Growing cells use glucose as a primary source of energy. The faster cells grow, the more glucose is consumed.
* A form of glucose called FDG, which emits particles called positrons, is injected before a PET/CT study is done.
* The FDG molecules are consumed more in fast-growing cancer cells than in normal cells, resulting in concentrations of FDG, and positrons, in areas of cancer.
* A PET/CT scanner detects where positrons are being emitted from within a patient and provides images that map the locations
* PET FDG mapping is combined with a CT image's structural detail in order to identify both the presence of disease and its precise location.
That is what tipped them off to the problem with my Thyroid back in December. It was lit up on the PET scan. The hope is that nothing will be lit up this time. Please, please!! (By the way, the brochure indicates that you should avoid contact with infants and pregnant women for 8 hours after the procedure. Somehow, that is not a very comforting thought)
I have an appointment on Friday, October 1, to find out the results of all the tests and to also have my next chemo treatment. So, while there isn't long to wait for the remaining tests themselves, the wait to find out the results is still pretty foreboding. It will be a long week.
Later.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
So glad they are finally scheduled. Interesting post too telling how this stuff works. Amazing technology. Does this mean you're back on a chemo schedule for Fridays? I hope so since that was what was working with your schedule.
ReplyDeleteNOW - get ready - think "dull" thoughts and try not to do any glowing until Saturday. We'll be thinking about you - Jean
Been thinking about you all day - hope it went well and the report next week is fantastic. Hope you can get a little rest now - Take care - Jean
ReplyDelete