Cancer Recheck - new oncologist

Last Friday, while I was in Rapids (Wisconsin Rapids) meeting the new oncologist, my daughter was in Point (Stevens Point) having an ultrasound.  Since her story is shorter I’ll tell it first.  There are 10 fingers and 10 toes and what appears to be a healthy baby girl.  It has been at least 17 years since this family has had a baby girl so we’re all very excited!  And they changed the due date from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day.  I’m thinking, why bother with a one day change, the baby will come when she’s ready.

Now, as for my appointment, it went great!  The nurses were nice, the doctor was nice (with a sense of humor even).  I must say I walked in exhausted, feeling like I was spinning my wheels and wasting my time and theirs.  But as I answered their questions and listened to the oncologist’s advice I knew I was in the right place.

He had already reviewed my chart by the time I got there.  He told me his game plan - PET/CT at least once a year, maybe every 6 months, depends on what’s needed.  He gave me plenty of time to talk about my concerns and feelings.  He gave me ample opportunity for questions and his game plan was exactly what I had in mind, without having to be the first to say it.

He set my PET/CT scan (I wrote about what a PET scan is when I had my last one and have copied it below so you don’t have to click a link to the old blog) up for this Tuesday, that’s why I waited a bit to tell you all about the visit.   The three people involved with the scan were all very nice (where have these people been hiding?!)  I found out from the lady who stuck my arm (one stick -yay) that the syringe in made out of tungsten which is even stronger than lead.  He will call with the results.

As much as I hate it, he has also set me up for a sigmoidoscopy - this is less than a colonoscopy, but a small scope, part of the way.  I have had a couple of episodes of bleeding in the last couple of months.  He did say it could still be the anastomosis (the area that was resected - uh sorry, where the ends of the colon were put back together minus the missing 5 inches) getting irritated but he wants to make sure we don’t miss anything.  So while I hate these type of tests I know he’s right.  I met with that doctor on Tuesday as well, actually his nurse, who was very pleasant and reassuring and only annoyed me a little by using my name as every third word of every sentence.  They did change the scope to the full blown colonoscopy but since the prep is the same for either test I can live with that.  I get this fun experience on Friday, yes tomorrow, Friday.  BTW, I hate the prep, I'm already a nervous wreak and will continue to get worse up until it's over.

Regarding my port-a-cath, he wants to leave it in.  He says that the most critical time is the first three years, counting from my last chemo, so he would like it to stay until June 2009.  I’m cool with that because it really doesn’t bother me.  A part of me wants it out, to signify the end of dealing with cancer but a part of me wants it to stay, just in case.  It makes drawing blood, getting Ivs, chemo, etc, so much easier!

I know I’m jumping around a bit here but I was really not happy with the oncologist I saw a few weeks ago.  The day after I met with him they were already calling and scheduling the port removal.  They had it set up for the 18th and even though I canceled the scan I had let them schedule, they still thought they were taking it out - uh, no.

So, I was really happy to find an oncologist who, I feel, still sees me as important.  Some of them make me feel like since I am done with chemo, in remission, their job is done. But this guy rocks!

They were able to access my port in one stick and were able to draw blood and flush it without any issue at all.  It loves me!  It’s still totally functional, even though it hadn’t been accessed in so long.  To be honest, I was a little nervous after the way the other place acted but I calmed my fears by reminding myself I was in a hospital if a clot was there.  And the oncologist and nurse were informed on how long it had been since it had been used.  They weren’t nervous at all, although they expected it to give some trouble.  I do have to go back every 6-8 weeks to keep it flushed and ready for duty.

Now we wait.

July 3, 2007
I went for my PET scan this morning.  And no that is not the procedure where they place kittens, puppies, hamsters and parakeets all over you and let them run amuck.  A PET scan is used to stage cancer, verify chemo is working (tumors shrinking) or see metastasis (new cancer) in cancer survivors.  I know there are other uses for PET scans but that is their purpose in cancer patients.

I really don't mind the PET scans and they help put my mind to rest, at least for awhile.  This will be the last one I will have for a year {except that changed when they found something and I went on to biopsies, it should have been done March 2008} and was my 5th one in the last year and a half.

A PET scan is different from a CT scan as they inject you with radiated glucose solution, have you rest quietly for a period of time and then look for areas of your body that are "eating" the sugar.  Cancer cells are hungry little guys and are eager to eat the sugar so the areas with the most sugar concentration will glow on the scan and the doctors will know you have a new tumor, potentially.

The worst part about the PET scan is the IV, so see, it's really a painless procedure.  This is one time that my port-a-cath cannot be used.  The sugar would cling to the tubing and make that area glow a lot.  So, I had to have an IV, like a normal person.  This whole mess almost has made me decide to keep my port.  The tech went straight for the tender area of the inside of my wrist, ignoring the crook of the elbow completely.

After that vein blew, became unusable, she got an RN to try.  The RN went directly to the back of the hand - also a very painful area.  That vein blew too and she went to the back of the other hand.  Finally a vein that would work for the short time it was needed.  I now have bruises all over both hands and wrists.

It's kinda funny that I never really paid attention to the solution that got injected into me until today.  I think that speaks for how crappy I felt during the others.  Today I saw the tech wheel a cart to my door holding a lead box.  The lead box was a little bigger than an ammo box and I only know that because I geocache and many caches are ammo boxes.  She opened the lid and pulled up on a handle, again made of lead, attached to a smaller box.  This box was locked and after she unlocked it she withdrew a metal syringe.

I find it odd that I never noticed the syringe before today but I figure I must have just forgotten.  After my 45 minute resting time, in which I have to lay there, unmoving with my eyes closed to allow the sugar to travel on its own, I entered the scan.  The scan is much like the big doughnut of a CT scan but it takes 20 minutes, instead of just in and out.