Marcy drove me to the Oncology office and I got my herceptin IV today and a shot of Lupron. Dr. Rubin said that things looked good on the CT scan and bone scan, except for 1 thing in the report. I am going to have Marcy get the cd of the images and bring it to her tomorrow, so that we will know more about how important this thing is.
Surgery is Friday (tomorrow) morning. I may be overnight at the hospital. Wish me luck!
Touch count: 22
Needle count: 64
Showing posts with label scans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label scans. Show all posts
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
ct scan and mri
I hobbled to my primary care doctor's office to get a referral for the MRI today and met my friend Amy at the coffeeshop across the street from his office. Amy drove me to Methodist Hospital for the tests. She pulled up in the back and grabbed me a wheelchair.
My first test was the MRI. It was in the trailer outside the building; I'd never had an MRI at that one before. I explained my knee's lack of mobility to the technician and we tried to find an acceptable position for me to be in during the exam. After the first few minutes, my leg started to throb. It got worse and tears started to come to my eyes. I pressed the "emergency" button to ask how much longer. I thought it was maybe halfway through the test, not 5 minutes into it. The technician said to try to stay in the test. I did try, but a few minutes later, my foot started to get hot. Really hot. Like it was burning. The searing sensation lapped up my leg and I became hysterical. I cried so hard that the technician stopped the test. I think he lifted off the apparatus on my knee and carried me off the machine into the wheelchair before I calmed down. I felt terribly embarrassed and my leg hurt (though the burning stopped after the apparatus came off). The technician wheeled me out of the trailer and up to the 2nd floor of the hospital. He even got me crackers and juice, as my lack of eating (because of the tests) probably contributed to the hysteria.
When I got upstairs and registered for the second test, a nurse brought me a fairly bad-tasting milkshake to drink to coat my insides so that they'd show up on the CT scan. Then she brought me back to a room to start an IV. I told her that during surgery it took 9 tries to get the anesthesia needle in; she said that she wouldn't even try and called for a nurse to hook up my IV with an ultrasound. It took her 20 minutes, a shot of Lidocaine (to numb me), and lots of warm blankets (to help get the blood flowing) to get a vein in my upper arm. The needle left a giant ugly bruise, but it cheerfully only took her one try. The scan itself only took a few minutes. Afterwards, my friend Tony picked me up. We got lunch before he brought me home.
Needle count: 59
Touch count: 20
My first test was the MRI. It was in the trailer outside the building; I'd never had an MRI at that one before. I explained my knee's lack of mobility to the technician and we tried to find an acceptable position for me to be in during the exam. After the first few minutes, my leg started to throb. It got worse and tears started to come to my eyes. I pressed the "emergency" button to ask how much longer. I thought it was maybe halfway through the test, not 5 minutes into it. The technician said to try to stay in the test. I did try, but a few minutes later, my foot started to get hot. Really hot. Like it was burning. The searing sensation lapped up my leg and I became hysterical. I cried so hard that the technician stopped the test. I think he lifted off the apparatus on my knee and carried me off the machine into the wheelchair before I calmed down. I felt terribly embarrassed and my leg hurt (though the burning stopped after the apparatus came off). The technician wheeled me out of the trailer and up to the 2nd floor of the hospital. He even got me crackers and juice, as my lack of eating (because of the tests) probably contributed to the hysteria.
When I got upstairs and registered for the second test, a nurse brought me a fairly bad-tasting milkshake to drink to coat my insides so that they'd show up on the CT scan. Then she brought me back to a room to start an IV. I told her that during surgery it took 9 tries to get the anesthesia needle in; she said that she wouldn't even try and called for a nurse to hook up my IV with an ultrasound. It took her 20 minutes, a shot of Lidocaine (to numb me), and lots of warm blankets (to help get the blood flowing) to get a vein in my upper arm. The needle left a giant ugly bruise, but it cheerfully only took her one try. The scan itself only took a few minutes. Afterwards, my friend Tony picked me up. We got lunch before he brought me home.
Needle count: 59
Touch count: 20
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
bone scan
Today, I had a bone scan at Methodist Hospital. My friend Dan drove me the 4 blocks to the hospital. We got there around 9 am and got up the the Nuclear Medicine Department within an hour. The technician brought out a metal canister that held the hypodermic needle in it. She gave me the shot in my right arm, then said that I could return in 3 hours. Another technician helped me into a wheelchair and drove me downstairs and outside to Dan's car.
Dan and I got breakfast at Oregon Diner and chitchatted about non-cancer topics. yay!
We stopped by the Post Office. I got a lovely package from my friend Kaja. It had a fantastic book of letters and a banner in it. Then we headed back to the hospital for the scan itself. Dan grabbed me a wheelchair and brought me up to the floor as we got to the hospital so that I wouldn't have to walk at all.
For the scan, the technicians strapped me to a platform that slid into a ring-shaped structure. It wasn't as enclosed as an MRI. It sat just a few inches in front of my face for a few minutes and then moved slowly down my body. I mostly rested with my eyes closed and imagined relaxing on beaches. The process took about 20 minutes. Then they re-oriented the machine twice and specifically scanned my hips, as bone loss typically shows up there first.
Afterwards, the technician drove my wheelchair out to the bus stop and I headed to work.
Surgery is in 3 more days. I am a little nervous, mostly about the immobility of my leg and the probable immobility of my arm, too. I'm also a little nervous about the biopsies, but there isn't anything to do about that now.
Needle count: 44
Touch count: 18
Dan and I got breakfast at Oregon Diner and chitchatted about non-cancer topics. yay!
We stopped by the Post Office. I got a lovely package from my friend Kaja. It had a fantastic book of letters and a banner in it. Then we headed back to the hospital for the scan itself. Dan grabbed me a wheelchair and brought me up to the floor as we got to the hospital so that I wouldn't have to walk at all.
For the scan, the technicians strapped me to a platform that slid into a ring-shaped structure. It wasn't as enclosed as an MRI. It sat just a few inches in front of my face for a few minutes and then moved slowly down my body. I mostly rested with my eyes closed and imagined relaxing on beaches. The process took about 20 minutes. Then they re-oriented the machine twice and specifically scanned my hips, as bone loss typically shows up there first.
Afterwards, the technician drove my wheelchair out to the bus stop and I headed to work.
Surgery is in 3 more days. I am a little nervous, mostly about the immobility of my leg and the probable immobility of my arm, too. I'm also a little nervous about the biopsies, but there isn't anything to do about that now.
Needle count: 44
Touch count: 18
Monday, February 6, 2012
MRI
I had an MRI (with and without color contrast) on my breasts. I had to lie face down with my arms above my head and my breasts pulled between foam boxes for about 45 minutes. It was terribly uncomfortable. The whole process should have taken about an hour total, from check in to check out, except that the staff at Methodist Hospital kept holding up the process.
At first, they would not me check in without having the actual doctor prescription. I called my doctor and he faxed it over immediately.
Then the medical assistant preparing me for the MRI said that they would not do it without having the reports from the previous tests (Ultrasound, Biopsy, etc.). She insisted that I had mammograms, which I didn't. I tried to ask if they could run the test and have my doctors intrepret the films, but she said they couldn't. She also yelled at me that I was doing everything wrong. She added that she had breast cancer last year and couldn't understand why I was making such a big deal about it. I really wanted to hit her.
Finally she left, and the MRI techs brought me back. They asked me to lay down on a platform. The assistant helped me arrange my breasts in foam pockets with my head in place so that I can't move. I had to hold still and they talk to me through the MRI. It's loud rapping and clicking. I found my mind trying to anticipate or create a pattern in the sound, but I can't. The sound made me think of Harrison Burgeron, from the Vonnegut story that no one else seems to have read.
Anyway we were at the hospital for about 4 hours for this whole process. It exhausted me.
Also, Dr. L. told me that my health insurance would not cover the PET Scan and that he'd been on the phone with them to persuade them otherwise. I am angry and frustrated. I feel like my insurance company is preventing my care.
After the MRI, I head to work. I'm awful and can't focus. I keep reading sad websites about wigs and cancer. I am super cranky pants today.
Needle Count: 4
Touch Count: 13
At first, they would not me check in without having the actual doctor prescription. I called my doctor and he faxed it over immediately.
Then the medical assistant preparing me for the MRI said that they would not do it without having the reports from the previous tests (Ultrasound, Biopsy, etc.). She insisted that I had mammograms, which I didn't. I tried to ask if they could run the test and have my doctors intrepret the films, but she said they couldn't. She also yelled at me that I was doing everything wrong. She added that she had breast cancer last year and couldn't understand why I was making such a big deal about it. I really wanted to hit her.
Finally she left, and the MRI techs brought me back. They asked me to lay down on a platform. The assistant helped me arrange my breasts in foam pockets with my head in place so that I can't move. I had to hold still and they talk to me through the MRI. It's loud rapping and clicking. I found my mind trying to anticipate or create a pattern in the sound, but I can't. The sound made me think of Harrison Burgeron, from the Vonnegut story that no one else seems to have read.
Anyway we were at the hospital for about 4 hours for this whole process. It exhausted me.
Also, Dr. L. told me that my health insurance would not cover the PET Scan and that he'd been on the phone with them to persuade them otherwise. I am angry and frustrated. I feel like my insurance company is preventing my care.
After the MRI, I head to work. I'm awful and can't focus. I keep reading sad websites about wigs and cancer. I am super cranky pants today.
Needle Count: 4
Touch Count: 13
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