Seeing Spot(s): A PET Scan Mystery

Last Thursday I had a PET/CT scan done. I've blogged about these scans before (see here, here, and especially here) and I've had so many, the crazy-expensive procedure feels like a routine. I still freak out about the results though. I was literally and visibly shaking at the doctor's office today before I got my results!

I wasn't supposed to get my results until tomorrow anyways. This morning I had my "line" removed.
The numbing medication went in like fire. Possibly more painful than doing the procedure with no numbing agent. Then the doctor snipped the little threads that had been holding my line in and tried to pull it out. Unfortunately (for me) my body had done a fantastic job of healing up around the line and was not keen on letting it go. A little yelping and some additional numbing shots later we got it out.

Chest scar number...oh hell, I don't even know anymore.

All in all it was over in about 30 minutes. And like I said, I wasn't supposed to get my scan results today...but the doctor who removed my line was directly across the street from my oncology doctor's office. I thought maybe I'd just pop in and see if they had any cancellations. Any time. At all. All day long.

As luck would have it I bumped into my doc in the hallway on my way in. He said he could see me right then, but wouldn't be available the rest of the day. The nurses charted my temperature, weight, and blood pressure and it was off to a room for results!

There is a new spot showing up on the scan. (Bad). There are no new enlarged lymph nodes though. (Good). I was under the weather when I had the scan and the doctor says the spot showing up *may* just be from me having the crud. If I wasn't otherwise ill, he says he'd be concerned about the spot (don't be fooled though, he *is* concerned), but since the spot could have been caused by me being sick we're going to be hopeful it's just a false positive.

Insurance only pays for PET scans every three months unless there's significant reason to believe the cancer is back (such as physically swollen lymph nodes). Since that's a long time to wait if the cancer really is back, we're going to do a CT scan in a month or so. As soon as we're pretty sure the crud is gone.

In the meantime I'm going to hope for the best and enjoy being line-free. I may not know if the cancer is back, but at least I can take a long hot shower without worrying that my line dressing is going to fall off and my line get infected. I may also have a glass or two of wine. Anything to distract me from worrying for a little while.