Pre-treatment testing and scanning continued this week. I'll be having radiotherapy and chemotherapy from early August onwards, and the testing is to help prepare and customise that treatment.
The scans really aren't too arduous for me. They take a lot of preparation and operation work from the staff in each relevant unit, but usually my job is simple: lie down and keep still. The staff and the machine do all the work; I am just the meat in the sandwich.
Cooking time varies. The PET scan on Thursday took longer than most: first an injection of radioactive glucose, then a preliminary snooze in a smaller room for about 90mins, lightly sedated, followed by the scan itself in the main machine room for about 30mins (restrained with a mask). Then a bit of a wind-down session in another room afterwards.
Today's Glomerular Filtration Rate Study (GFR) was to test my kidney function. The gamma camera machine used is another member of the hospital's nuclear family. It generates its images of my innards after a radioactive chemical compound has been injected into my system.
So, the process today opened in the usual fashion for these scans: first, the standard briefing session along the lines of:
Radiologist guy saying, essentially: "this just another straightforward little test, with a few differences"
Me thinking: "I can smell the uranium on your breath"
Really it was nothing to worry about; yet another straightforward process. A relatively quick setup & scan (about 25 mins), then hourly blood sampling by a nurse at intervals throughout the day. I entertained myself by exploring the Wellington Hospital layout (designed by ID software, I think) and then doing my own sampling & analysis of the cafe soup. Not bad at all.
Final results from the PET scan last week and today's GFR study (and soup analysis) will most likely come in later this week - I will keep you posted...