Radioactive !!

Firstly apologies for the lack of posts over the past week. Unfortunately I have been unwell for a few days. But normal service is now restored!!

I have previously talked about the dilemma I had regarding when to tell my parents my diagnosis. It was a very emotional time over those days running up to telling them, and for a few days after as we helped them get their heads around things. (Remember, we knew 2 weeks previously).

They have been such a great support since I told them. They have come to appointments with us, cooked for us and listened to me when I need to talk.  Please remember the importance of TALKING ABOUT THINGS, and the need for a good support network.

In order for the Doctors to formulate a treatment plan, they had arranged for me to go for a bone scan, which I mentioned in a previous post. 

My mum came with me to my radionuclide bone scan, (sounds scary eh!! But it’s an injection of a radioactive liquid called a radionuclide). This was to determine if the cancer had moved into the bones, also to establish a pre-treatment indicator of my bone health (it transpires that I have bone damage at my knees, too much walking!!)

Click on this link for information about radionuclide bone scans

At the appointment I was given an injection of the radionuclide.  It takes a couple of hours to work so I was sent away and asked to return in 2 hours. We went for a lovely lunch!

I returned for the scan, this involves lying on your back for about 40mins. The camera is positioned above your face, literally about 1cm above the tip of your nose!! It then really slowly starts to scan down the front of your body, it adjusts its position, (a bit like in a drive through car wash when the machine adjusts its height to avoid colliding with car). The same happens with the camera in this scan. Once it has scanned the front of your body it then moves under the bed you are lying on and scans the back of your body.

Fortunately unlike a car wash no foam or hot oil was involved in my scan!! As a parting bit of advice the radiographer informed me I would be radioactive for 24hours. I had to avoid contact with babies and pregnant women! I almost imagined I had that Ready Brek glow but I have been told I was just imagining it….or was I ??

The results of this scan alongside the other tests and scans changed the medical plan I was to receive at my next hospital appointment.