PET Scan saga…..

Warning… may contain graphic images.

4pm is really a stupid time to have a PET scan! You have to fast for 6hrs for this one. Why can’t they just give ‘us’ the morning slots. I can manage without food or drink for 6 hrs but still. I got frikkin cancer….. twice….. and on a hot day like today, I need to troop my way across London whilst starving my ass off for my PET scan by myself because 4pm is really a stupid time for a PET scan.

My appointment is 2.5 hrs. So no monday yoga for me today! At 4pm, everyone is commuting, everyone picking up kids or sorting dinner, homework blah blah for the kids! Why are there never any 10 am slots?

I decided to go alone today. Anyone accompanying me will just be sitting around waiting! Next time I will try my best to go earlier. By this time, I am quite hungry.

Arrived at Charing Cross Hospital. I followed the broken red line.

I arrive at the Nuclear Medicine department!

I’m in the waiting room. There is what looks to me like mother and daughter. Daughter is wearing a head scarf. It is safe to say anyone waiting in this department has been fasting for 4 hrs or longer. Mother is nicely tucking into a big meaty wrap, looks like cajun chicken or something with salad……stupid moron.

I advised a month ago when this appointment was booked that we needed someone who was port trained. I sent an email ahead of time and phoned through this morning. Was there anyone available to inject the radioactive tracer through my port….. don’t be silly…..!

This was my room. Anyone who remembers my previous scan will know the drill. For those that don’t, I will recap! I have to await the radioactive tracer. It arrives from it’s secure location in a silver canister in a big metal box. I didn’t get a pic of it…. got fed up by this point.

Without too much hassle it went in my poor hand. I had to just lay there for an hour. While the tracer in fructose solution moved around my body.

After 1hr, I am told to go for a piddle before my scan. The scan was supposed to be 25 mins. I swear it was longer. I really know time after all these bloody appointments.

I lay on this hard plate arms overhead, like a dead weight, as still as can be. Eyes tight shut cos I just hate these machines. I am very uncomfortable, back is very sore on here. Thoughts racing in my head, they are either taking too long as there is too much to see and getting clear images or can’t see anything and ensuring they havent missed anything.

I say I know time….. I really do. You truly understand on another level how long a year is when you loose someone close to you.

This morning I woke up just after 4am. My mum had her oncology appointment today too and I didn’t want her to be alone all day. After a biomat session, I had something to eat just for the sake of eating something.

Today, I just needed to get from A to B. A being awake and B being bedtime. I picked up my mum and we went to the temple for a short while. Took her to her hospital appointment and then came home for exactly 1hr. I set an alarm and had a nice power nap. Was running on empty by this point. Headed into Hammersmith and you know the rest.

I am almost through it and nearer the other end now. I decided to take myself off any communication with the world today as I just needed to control my inner chi and have my head in the right place and just get through every painstaking moment that today brought.

I grabbed a sandwich in the hossy and the nice fella serving me asked where I had been and if I was good. I think I was looking a bit dishevelled. Instead of giving him the low down…. I just replied…. ‘I’ve been in scanning and yes, yes I hope so’. Five hours later, I arrive back home.

A challenging day…. most definately. So you can only imagine what I went through last year …..and I came through that ok…. but hey I’m cool. This chick is made of some tough stuff !

Nite nite x