What used to be a couple of swills of horrible orange-flavored drink prior to the scan has morphed into two pints of bottled water spiked with an iodine solution an hour before the scan and then one more pint of a different iodine solution minutes before. So while I loved the flavorless solution, far superior to the faux store-brand-Tang-flavored drink we had before, that is outweighed by the wasted hour one must spend at the hospital prior to the scan.
It's not as if I -- and most every cancer patient -- has not wasted countless hours at hospitals and doctors office waiting in lobbies or in infusion rooms for and during treatments. But just when you thought you'd escaped that routine, it's back. I didn't even bring my traditional time-waster -- a sudoku book. But, thankfully, Catherine joined me so we had some time with each other.
The CT tech who snapped my internal photos and also gave the most pain-free IV poke I've ever had said Florida Hospital changed the procedure about a month ago and that the protocol is better. Perhaps the chemicals in the bottled water provide better contrast for the CT. I wouldn't doubt it. That place is always improving upon itself.
The tech also said it has to do with distributing the contrast drinks. I mentioned in 2007 about the milky contrast drinks they make you consume before a PET scan and some CT scans (use liquid strawberry-flavored Quik to make it go down easier). Well, by administering the drink prior to the scan -- not the day or days before -- Florida Hospital's imaging service can't be seen as distributing medications like a pharmacy. Maybe the lawyers got involved.
Florida Hospital also changed the procedure at its Advanced Nuclear Imaging center across the street, where PET scans are produced. So be prepared for a wait there as well.
I won't hear about the results of the scan until later this month -- the 27th -- but I figure no news is good news. If something shows up that shouldn't be there, I think I'll hear from the doctor sooner. I'm hoping I don't.
So don't panic about taking the scans, just be prepared to wait a while once at the hospital. Arrive an hour or more before your appointment -- and bring something to read.
2 comments:
greetings from alaska! "we" (my husband) are newly dx. with NHL Bcell tumors in the neck & lung. I don't know how what link brought me here but I'm glad it did and your wife's site describes what the past month has been like and what Ibelieve the future will bring. Thank you for writing so honestly & sharing the pictures. Continued wellness to you!
I'm so sorry to hear about your diagnosis.
It will be a tough road to follow for the near future. Chemo and rads are difficult to endure, but please make sure your husband goes into it with a positive attitude and keeps that up throughout the treatments -- even when things look and feel the worst.
I'd encourage him to eat as much now as possible because the chemo will affect his appetite and he'll lose weight.
On the blog are "tips" -- and they pretty much apply to most cancer patients. They come from myself and a few friends who went through cancer treatments or had close relatives go through it.
If there's any way to to help or offer further suggestions, please contact me.
I wish you both the best.
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