CT scan

This morning I was back at St Bart's for a CT scan of my chest and pelvis, in the imaging department. I've been here a few times: for my MRI scan, my bone scan and now my CT scan. I'm becoming quite a regular! I arrived this morning and they were running about an hour and a half behind schedule. I mention this because for all my many appointments, tests and treatment, this is the first time things haven't run to time. Quite a feat by our wonderful NHS. As I was waiting in the foyer I looked around the atrium at the lovely view. The outside of the building features the original stonework, but inside the King George V wing it's all light, airy and modern, and there are even trees in the atrium! It's a wonderful building.

When they finally got round to me, I was seen by another nurse, G___, who put in yet another cannula, which you would have thought I'd be used to by now, but unfortunately I'm not. He tried my left arm first, but it didn't work, so we had to do the right arm. My arms are now very sore. After he'd tested it with a vial of saline I was dispatched to the waiting room and told to drink three glasses of water. The patient after me was an older lady, with a woolly hat on, and she went into the treatment room. Her companion, a white-haired old lady of at least 70, promptly sat next to me and engaged me in conversation. I have noticed thus far that there's an unwritten rule about showing courtesy to patients, not asking too many questions, and not inviting yourself into their personal space if they are not willing. Well this lady didn't seem to care about any of that! Her opening line was 'So where've you got it, then? Your breast?'. Crikey, talk about cutting to the chase, lady! Actually I quite liked her frankness, and we had a great conversation about what's going on, what in her mind is the best way to tackle things ('a positive mindset') and how ridiculous it is that 'they're trying to get us all to drink so much water'. She clearly thought this was absurd. When the nurse came to get me for my scan, she said 'Good luck missy, have a great life'. What a fabulous old battler, she really put a smile on my face.

The CT scan uses a 'donut'-like machine, similar to the one used for my bone scan. I had to lie down on a flat bed which moved to push me in and out of a donut which scanned the relevant parts of my body. The technician, B___, pushed some dye into my veins through the cannula just before this happened, which the scanner then picks up. This was a high pressure dye, and just before she commenced, she warned me about the side effects. She said 'You might get a metallic taste in your mouth, your body will suddenly feel flushed and warm from your fingers to your toes, and you will feel as though you're peeing, but don't worry, you're not peeing'. Within three seconds, all of these side effects kicked in! It was so strange (especially the part where I thought I'd wet my pants).

The machine then quickly scanned from my neck to my pelvis and then I was good to go. I will get these results, and the results of my bone scan, when I see Dr S___, my oncologist, next Friday.

After my scan I had booked a contact lens check up and a sight test, which is a little overdue. I was chatting to the optometrist about how the chemo is drying my eyes out and I feel as though the contact lenses are getting a bit scratchy towards the afternoon each day. We have decided to switch my lenses from monthlies to dailies, which should help with this, but also reduce the chance of infection, as I'll throw the lenses away at the end of each day, so won't be putting the same ones back in my eyes each day. This will give me peace of mind, as I'm much more susceptible to infections while I'm on chemo. She has also advised that I wear my glasses at least a couple of days a week, to give my eyes some rest.

Now I'm back home and cooking a fish pie for dinner. (I still have my mashed potato cravings so I'm working my way through all the recipes I know that feature mashed potato!)