CT guided Bone Marrow Aspiration/Biopsy

seeing this a few days ago...

...for internet search "bone marrow biopsy" did little to ease my mind!
As it turns out, I believe there is a hammer missing from this picture.

Doing a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy, along with the previous PET scan, is part of the 'staging' process to help the C-Dr determine my treatment plan.

Due to the 'extra tissue' (too much gluteus maximus on my bodyus) my C-Dr ordered a CT guided Bone Marrow Biopsy [person rests in a CT-scanner and the scanner's images help doctors determine the exact position of the needle in the targeted area] which is done at a hospital or outpatient center.  Usually he says most bone marrow biopsy's he can do in his office. An additional advantage is they can put you under light sedation in the hospital/outpatient setting.

Check-in time was 9:45am at IMC but we got there a little early.  Then filled out more paperwork, again.  I swear, I've filled out the same forms or just a slight variation of the same forms each place I go to. It's getting old. But then, so am I.  Well, there was something new for me to answer on one of these forms--for the first time the question was asked: "Have you ever been diagnosed with cancer?" That was tough. My new reality. Anyway, about 10:30 or so we're (my youngest sister is today's driver) escorted back to the curtained cubicle where street clothes are exchanged for glamorous over-sized too-long scrub pants and the infamous hospital gown.  Vitals are taken and my severe case of white coat BP isn't so severe today on the first reading. Each subsequent read is lower to finally a normal range.  Maybe I'm getting used to it?  Then, for as many IV's and blood draws as I've had in the past 6 weeks this is the first time someone can't find a vein on the first try. We joked about it being his 2nd day on the job but at a certain point I wondered if it just might be true.  After 30 minutes, with the help of an ultrasound machine (relying on technology instead of experience?) a suitable vein was found. Finally. Then, more wires attached to my body to monitor heart and finally the IV bag is hung up and added to the mix.

So many tubes and wires all over the place! Blood was also drawn for labs they needed to do and then a RN came in and went over the procedure a bit and gave me the name of another nurse who would actually be there during the procedure.  Then more wait.  And wait.  And wait.  Then the Dr, an Interventional Radiologist, who will be doing the procedure came in and introduced himself and also explained the procedure a bit more, some Q&A, and he has another release form for me to sign.  Then he disappears and we wait some more.
A little before 12noon the RN comes to walk me to the room with the CT scanner--only to discover when we get there that old linens are still on the patient table (part that slides in and out of the CT scanner tube) so I stand around, trying to hold up the too big scrub pants and also holding my IV solution bag, while he searches for clean linens and does a little housekeeping.  Really?!

Then it's tummy side down on the table and the other RN puts a nice warm blanket over me. Ahhhhh.

All my wires are hooked up to another monitoring machine and the first BP reading is a bit high and I go through the 'severe white coat' explanation and she says "So we shouldn't panic when your BP drops?" Next reading is significantly better and as we look at it I smile and say "See?!" and continue to watch as each following reading is more normal. Watching that little machine and seeing how I could affect its reading of respiration rate and oxygen saturation was kinda fun while they fiddled around doing other prep stuff.  If I took a really deep breath the yellow line and number changed and then the blue O2 sat number was also fun to tweak a bit. I was bored at this point, but also trying to occupy my mind on something other than what was coming up. Can you tell?  Finally they slide me in and out of the tube to get the bone location they needed. Then in went the needle with some numbing solution. I think this is the point where I have about a 20 minute gap in time and it's probably a good thing because what I remember feeling next is an intense and incredible pressure where they're working (imagine an elephant stepping on you just below your waist), then hear and feel what I swear is a hammer banging something into my hip bone and then a grating, crushing kind of noise and feeling.  Are ya'll squeamish yet? Not sure I want to know what was happening during that other 20 minutes.
When they're done I roll over from the table to my bed and they wheel me back to the curtained cubicle I'd walked out of about an hour before. My sister was still there reading a book. Wires and stuff hooked back up and first RN comes in every 10 minutes or so checking on me and biopsy location. BP reading are also well within the normal range. Yay.  Not long after he offered me something to drink and I decided I'd earned a Dr. Pepper! and along with some water came a sack lunch with small dark wheat roll w/roast beef & lettuce & tomato & condiments, along with chips and melon and juice and cookies. My sister ate the chips and Lorna Doone's. The sandwich and melon was yummy. Of course I hadn't eaten since dinner the night before so anything would have been good.
I think it was a little after 3:00pm when my release instructions and cautionary warnings were given and papers signed.  The remainder of today is to be rest and no exertion; tomorrow kind of back to normal but for next 7 days I can't lift anything more than 10 pounds! Sheesh, a gallon of milk is just over 8 pounds (under the limit) but not by much. This will severely curtail my normal activities. I passed on the wheelchair ride and almost look forward to the 100 degrees outside which means I'm out of that building!

Want a closer look?

Me neither.

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