Tag Archives: ovariancancerawarenessmonth

Pet scan time-“Eyes to Thighs”

So you want a Pet?

IMG_8693
Leilani Kitty-Our Pet

No, not that kind…this kind…a Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan.

petscan
Areas of hyper-metabolic activity light up!

Tomorrow is my six month scan. We are hoping not to see any areas light up this time!  Today (Thursday) is the prep day. Starving the body of sugar and focusing on low carb eating.

A day of eating this…

photo 1
Genoa Salame and Provolone Cheese-$4.99 at Safeway

And this…

 

photo 2
Salted Peanuts

Tomorrow (Friday) is just watery water…Nothing else!

water2
Watery water

Then, they inject the radioactive tracer…and allow it to circulate in the bloodstream.

Injection
Injection of radioactive tracer element

One hour of sitting “Quietly”…no music, books, talking, moving, etc. They really mean it when they say sit quietly. After 1 hour, the dye has had a chance to circulate through the whole body (organs and tissue) and you’re ready for the scan to begin. Any areas of hypermetabolic  hungry cancer cells, will be activated and light up during the scan.

Then, the tube. It like a crystal ball to look at your innards.

pet-scan-machine
Pet Scan machine

And then waiting…for results…till Monday-an exercise in patience impatience. What makes you impatient? How do you cope?

clock-clip-art-4ib4BM5ig
Seeing the doctor Monday after school.