Well, perhaps I jumped the gun just a tab in my last post. The phone call I got actually was from a nurse whose exact words were "The PET scan looked pretty good!" Of course, I hoped that meant there was no sign of cancer. Well, the facts are certainly encouraging, but it is way too soon to declare the cancer really gone!
We visited Dr Fain, my Oncologist, today for my routine blood-work and for the official reading of the PET scan.
I vant your blood!
I got to the office a bit early and got my blood drawn. That really sounds silly, lets tell it like it is: The vampire tech stuck his teeth my arm and sucked out a quart of blood! (Remember Halloween is just a few days away! Sorry!) OK, so it was really a needle, not his teeth, and only a couple of test tubes worth. Just before sticking the needle in he said "Take a deep breath" I did while staring right at him as he did the deed. "That was to distract me, right?" "Yep! Obviously it did not work", "Nope!". I saw (and felt) the needle, but he did a good job, so he is on the good-guy list for next time. I still remember the nurse who tried to give me an IV just before my first surgery. She has not made it back on that list!
Puzzle time
After that, I had to wait for Cheryl to get there before we could go to the area where Dr Fain works. There is a table in the waiting area with a jigsaw puzzle almost complete. Normally Cheryl and I sit there and try to get a few pieces in. This time, there was a puzzle showing a picture of hot-air balloon in a clear blue sky. The puzzle was complete except for that durned blue sky. Guess what! All of the remaining pieces were solid blue. There was a alight variation in the sky color, but for the most part, this was like those evil white puzzles with no clues at all where anything went. I still managed to get about a dozen pieces in before Cheryl got there.
We wandered over to the opposite side of the clinic and a few minutes later were guided into Dr. Fain's office. He showed up in a few more minutes and we were ready for the official results!
Official reading
The PET scan shows cancer as bright spots on the image. Unfortunately, infections also show up that way. There were a few "hot spots" near where the cancer was, but nothing really unusual for someone who went through seven weeks of radiation and 11 hours of surgery. Dr Fain had talked to Dr. Dzuik, the Radiologist, and they both feel that what they are seeing is radiation residue. I had to have a shield around the molars on the surgery side during radiation, and that is the area showing the spots. All in all, they said it looks good, and we will recheck in three months to see how things are changing.
Dr. Fain also said that there is some kind of blood indicator that shows signs of cancer. Right after the surgery, the number was around 21, normal is about 2.5, and I was at 7. Again, he is pretty sure that is fine for my condition. I seem to remember hearing similar discussions during my first run at this beast called cancer. Still, it is not exactly what you want to hear. Both Cheryl and I are a bit concerned, but we have been through this before.
It occurred to ma later that I might get some data from my first run against cancer and see what those indicator numbers looked like back then We have not done that, but I might.
And finally
In the meantime, the official reading is "Cautiously Optimistic!
I guess that will be good enough for now. We will be praying that the numbers go down during the next three months. Then we will do another ride through the donut!
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