Well, I've had just about every part of my body scanned recently! I hope that's done for a while!
Last Friday I had to repeat the ultrasound I had back in June to look at my fistula. When I went to see my surgeon about it on Tues., she didn't have the results! She finally talked to a dr. (the "head honcho", as she called him) who read the scan to her over the phone. He only had 4 pictures and they weren't very good. He wanted to repeat the ultrasound, and do it himself. After talking with my surgeon he knew my background and exactly what she was looking for. I was very polite, and agreed, but I was SO BUMMED! I cried a little when I got out to the car, was mad at God, and used all 8 cylinders in the truck on my way home (nobody got in my way that day!). The ultrasound is a difficult test for me, causes pain and discomfort, and I really just hate it. I can't fully explain why, because that is just TMI. But I hope I never have to have that again! When I called my surgeon's clinic to schedule another appt. with her after having the repeat scan done, they wanted to schedule me 4-6 weeks out. Umm, no. They were able to get me in this Thurs., less than a week after the scan. ;)
Monday I had my MRI, to check for breast cancer, and today (Tues.) I had my ct scans and lab work. Most of my labs are done already, and I can check them online. So far, they all look good! My oncology nurse had a difficult time get blood from my port, so I had to let some "cath-flo" (draino like stuff) sit in there for about half an hour, then it worked fine. Sometimes little flaps develop in the port line and they let stuff in (like saline) but the flap closes when drawing blood out. The cath-flo eats that away and clears the line. It sure was nice having the port the past few days though. It was used for my MRI, labs, and CT scan. No big ugly bruises on my arm, and relatively little pain!
The bad part about the CT scan is that the yucky, horrible contrast I have to drink really messes up my stomach for the rest of the day. Lots of gurgling and discomfort. Oh well, by tomorrow I should be fine.
Now I wait for results. Thurs. I'll find out what we can do about the fistula, and next Tues. I'll see my onc and get the results of my scans. They'll be all clear, I'm sure!
Even with all the strife and discomfort of the last week or so, I've been very happy. I've been getting out for walks, now that the weather is cooler, and loving the exercise and the beautiful world God created for us. I've felt very connected to my Lord lately, growing in my trust and faith. I rarely worry about a recurrence, although I have been saddened that others I know have progressed to stage 4. I do wonder sometimes if it will happen to me, but most of the time (75%?) I feel as though I've been healed and will never have cancer again (which would be a miracle, given my "young" age for both cancers). No matter what happens though, I will continue to trust in God!
The rest of the fam is doing well--mom and Shonna are headed up north with my sister, and Alyssa and her husband. Rich and I will have the house to ourselves woo-hoo! :) We had a great time recently in Duluth with our kids and grandkids. I love having everyone together like that!
Life is good people--get out and enjoy it while you can!!
Love and blessings!
Tina
