Again, I have been remiss in keeping everyone up to date. It's been a busy month of houseguests, earthquakes, hurricanes, and back to school. I'm glad to report that we have emerged from this craziness no worse for wear.
I've have also had several doctor's visits since my last post, so here's the latest from my adventures in Cancerland.
Last month I shared that my last MRI indicated a lesion near my bladder that required further testing. I had a Pet-CT scan last week. The scan itself is no big deal. Drink some yucky stuff, wait an hour or so, and them lie still on a table for about 40 minutes. The tough part is waiting to hear the results.
For me, the time that passes between having a scan and getting the results seems interminably long, even though it's normally only a day or so. Logic dictates that, at this point, the results will most likely be positive. After all, I have what's considered a very slow growing kind of cancer, and since my last Pet-CT scan, I've undergone chemotherapy and radiation. Still, I worry.
I was especially anxious to find out more about this bladder / ureter lesion. Although my doctor told me that colon cancer rarely metastasizes to the bladder, there was always the chance. So, of course, my brain focused on the small possibility of a totally devastating outcome. I kept imagining the doctors looking at my scan and seeing cancer illuminate my midsection like some strange abdominal Lite Brite®. It's days like these that I can understand why some people turn to Valium or Xanax. I would have loved to find some way to turn my brain off for a few hours.
Fortunately, I was delivered from my anxiety early the next day. The Pet-CT scan showed that the colorectal tumor is significantly smaller, and more importantly, there is no indication of cancer near my bladder. Whew!!!
Bolstered by that wonderful news, I met my urologist (who I just learned is also an oncologist) this past Tuesday and expected him to confirm that all was well with regards to my bladder and ureter. Unlike me, however, Dr. B. was only cautiously optimistic. It seems the Pet-CT scan wasn't enough to convince him that I was in the clear. He wanted me to have a regular CT scan with contrast to get a better look at things. Sigh...more scans.
On the bright side, he sent me to radiology from his office, and within 40 minutes I was on a table with dye coursing through my body. The doctors at JHU really know how to get things done. After the scan and some blood work, I was sent home to wait...again. Dr. B. promised to e-mail the results as soon as he could.
Dr. B. is a man of his word. By 10:00 the next morning, he sent me a message that included the following:
"CT Urogram shows normal appearing kidneys, ureters, and bladder. The soft tissue lesion is non-enhancing and honestly doesn’t look like metastatic colon cancer."
He also wrote regarding my surgery:
"I will communicate [to Dr. E.] and obviously I’ll be around if needed but doesn’t look like it."
I'm taking this as a definitive result that my cancer has not spread. If any new doctor doubts this and wants me to undergo more testing, I'm going to pull out my laptop and show him Dr. B.'s e-mail. As far as I'm concerned, this issue is finished!
Well, maybe not completely finished...once I have my surgery on October 14th, then it will really be done. Until then, however, NO MORE F*#%ING SCANS!!!
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