Okay, time to do some catching up here. Let’s see, yesterday the PET scan went well. The scanner was one of those they pull up in a trailer, rather than installed in the hospital. On the way into the trailer, up the sharp metal steps, the tech managed to knock himself right off the top step. He had reached the top and was trying to both open the door and move to the side to allow me through. His slip-on shoe hung in the stair’s teeth however, sending him swinging into the abyss hanging onto the door handle. Quite an amusing way to start the day, especially since he didn’t get hurt.
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So today’s my PET/CT scan. This one’s to find out exactly where the Hodgkin’s is and how bad, as well as give us a baseline. You see, Hodgkin’s is tough to read once it starts dying because it leaves scar tissue behind. That means that even though it might be gone from a lymph node, in a CT scan it will still look like it’s got the cancer. The PET actually checks function, so it will actually tell us how much we’re kicking the cancer’s ass later on down the line. Yeehaw.

So, I haven’t taken my pain pills (Dilaudid – not nearly as good as my Lor-Tab babies) since yesterday morning, and the pain in my shoulder is gone. The only drugs I’m on are Naproxen Sodium (Generic CVS Aleve) and amazement. Either Aleve really kicks ass (Dear Aleve, I love your product. Well, not necessarily your product, but the generic brand since yours costs too damn much. Thank you, Brian) or something strange is happening with my spidey-sense. Current thinking here at the Whitney Street Brain Trust is that the lymph node under my arm seems to have stopped swelling, perhaps even has retreated a bit. This has probably caused it to stop pushing on some nerve that heretofore had me munching down pain pills like I was Paula Abdul.
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I guess I should get around to telling a little bit of my medical history so you guys know where I’m coming from. I’ve always been sick in some way, between allergies, asthma and migraines, not to mention the common childhood ailments. This was a new one on me, however.
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So today was the next baseline test – the Pulmonary Function Test. At least I think that’s what the “P” in “PFT” was – my mind fades at times.

Today as I was getting ready to go to the hospital I had my first… let’s say misgivings. I’m not up to fear just yet. I figure fear will come on the first treatment day when they insert the port and the chemo begins. For now, I’ll just call what I’m experiencing “misgivings”.
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I had my first Nuclear Medicine study today. A MUGA scan to check my heart function. Gives the doctor a baseline for later on to see if the chemotherapy winds up messing with my heart. Lovely. This is the first of a few different baseline tests.
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Today, we have one of those sort of “first day of the rest of your life” moments. Today is the day my doctor told me I have cancer.
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