The Scans
Posted by keithlecointe on May 8, 2008
Being diagnosed with gout is one thing, but then having it re-diagnosed as a tumor, well, that’s just scary. I guess I’m still kinda hoping that it is gout. My referred doctor was taking no chances and, hence, sent me to various hospitals to be poked and prodded.
Over the next two days, I was exposed to an MRI, CT and bone scan and blood tests.
The Bone and CT Scan
For a bone scan they inject you with a small amount of radioactive isotope. I’m not quite sure which element it is but it only has a half life of about 6 days. (If you want all the details check out this site http://www.brighamandwomens.org/nuclearmedicine/patient/bone.aspx. I’m not sure if it’s 100% accurate but it describes the process well enough). Anyway, then I sit for about 3 hours waiting for this thing to diffuse throughout my body.
Now, 3 hours is a long time and I had a lot on my mind and I eventually had the realization that I was radioactive. Now, I don’t know about you, but I know that most comic super heroes always changed when something radioactive was present. Soooo…. I gave all my superpowers a try;
Telekinesis (nope)
Telepathy (nope)
Invisibility (nope)
Invulnerability; ouch! (nope)
Super speed; did I mention I had pain in my knee?? (Nope)
Nothing worked. Don’t believe anything you read in those comic books.
Once the time is up they lie you down on a ‘bed’ and the machine scans your whole body. Then it’s over. A real anti-climax. Although, it does show the tumor up pretty well.
The CT scan was pretty unremarkable as well. I never even saw the results to that.
The MRI Scan
Now, the MRI was a little bit more interesting. I guess you’ve all seen it on tv. You lie down in a kind of tube thing. That’s it. The nurse warned me that I’d be there for quite a few minutes (40, she estimated) and that I should have a snooze if I wanted. Well, I was there for a very long time. About 2 hours according to Roz. Remember, I was not able to move except for the few times they came in to change my position.
I’ll say this though; there was absolutely no way I could have had a snooze. That machine makes a lot of noise. It was like the ending scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. They don’t tell you that on ‘House’ do they?
I had my biopsy done on Monday (NZ time) and I’m now waiting for the results. Either way there’s gonna be an operation involved to remove the stupid thing.
Waiting is so much fun isn’t it?
