PET scan #2

Yesterday (Feb 13th) was my PET scan re-scan. This time around I know what to expect so am more relaxed than I was back in June when I had the first one. That's a good thing.

However...

I woke up to a "chirp" from the smoke alarm on the main floor at the top of the basement stairs. Dang. I did not set my wake-up alarms with enough extra time to change a battery and especially not extra time to haul in the cheap (and heavy) knock-off Little Giant ladder from the garage to get that annoying chirping stopped. This particular smoke alarm is on a 10-foot high ceiling so battery swap outs are done only when needed, and fortunately this is the only one at that height! This task will have to wait until I return.

Look! No Snow!!
Once again there was plenty of parking in this section, so I did...

Because I Am One.

Is it a bad thing that a procedure you've only gone through once before feels routinely 'normal' as it's being done for just the second time? That's the sense I felt during this repeat experience: kind of a "no big deal" but also knowing it IS a big deal. It was just a weird feeling I had during the whole process. I certainly don't want to get used to all these procedures, BUT I also know that they will be a way of life now: the New Normal of my life as a cancer patient.

Here's the original PET scan post from last June. It was deja-vu, without the nerves. (Except this time there is no upcoming bone marrow biopsy, for which I'm extremely grateful!) After checking in at 9:10am by the time everything was completed I was back in my car before 11:00am.

I'll get the results of this PET scan next week at my regular C-Dr/infusion appointment on Thursday. My wish is a 'negative' on active cancer cells, however my gut instinct feels there will still be some hanging around. One more week to wait for the outcome of Wish vs Gut cancer match.

On my return home I picked up the heavy ladder and sprinted (NOT) up the garage stairs with it into the house. That effort accomplished, it was left leaning against a wall so I could hunt up the newest package of replacement battery. Interesting. Something was different now. This morning's chirping alarm was now totally and completely silent. And stayed that way the rest of the night. I think this why:

p.s. Well, the non-chirping quiet and blissful silence lasted until Saturday morning. Ladder climbed. Battery replaced. Heavy ladder returned to garage. And, no, I don't change all (9!) of my smoke alarm batteries every 6 months. Do you?



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19 Years Ago Today...

...my father passed away.

Never thought I'd say it, but time flies!

This picture is one of the rare professional photo's we have of Dad.

In the years since 7 more of his grand-children got married and 27 additional great-grandchildren have been added giving him a total (so far) of 29 great-grandchildren.

Here are some of my favorite pic's of Dad -- through the years.

As a young boy with his older sister and older brother.

(don'tcha love the knickers?!)

Several years later with his older sister & brother and younger brother.

(not hard to match who's who between the two photos)

On his honeymoon, dinner and show at a Las Vegas nightclub.

(what a handsome dude!)

Raised a family of four children.

(and cat Tinkerbell here)

Dad held a full-time civil service job AND for over 30 years served as Clerk/Recorder and later Administrator for the small town he was born and raised in. For most of those years our home was the city office and Dad is seen here keeping up with the ledgers and accounting work.

AND

As an orchardist grew cherries, apricots and peaches on 7 acres of land.

(in his "spare" time!)

Enjoyed his grandchildren, from the first...

...to all those that followed:

He would read them stories (even though as he told me once: "it makes me sleepy--just like when I read the newspaper").

And gladly transported them, and/or their bikes, when needed.

He loved Jello and preferred it to cake for his birthday.

He liked to fish.

At a stream in the mountains...

...or with friends at a lake in the Tetons (Dad standing on boat).

And speaking of boats...

He very much loved boating (shown here with his younger brother and sister-in-law) either behind the wheel of his ski boat at local reservoirs or Bear Lake or captaining a houseboat plying the waters of Lake Powell.

He liked to travel, whether accommodations were...

rented trailers, or...

crowded motel rooms, or...

family owned trailer, or...

an old rented Army tent on our first boating trip to Lake Powell, or...

his beloved camper, or...

the little class-C motor home.

He was a good sport about driving the 'little blue roads' my mother liked to travel on, and even on US highways or interstate freeways...

...when weather conditions made driving miserable (such as here when pulling a boat was near impossible) he was the best 'white knuckle' driver I've ever known.

Dad had an artist's eye and brought photos to life or just told a story.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison (Colorado)

Dad loved cars and my guess is while on a trip with friends to Las Vegas this parking lot of "fins" was a photo-op too good to pass up. 

Our 'fins' are the yellow station wagon, fourth from the left.

Other 'photo-ops' were ready-made.

Mr. Fix-It

Here he recruited a grandson to help with truck repairs.

(anytime I called and asked for "Mr. Goodwrench" -- he knew.)

An easy task was assembling this garden bench for his mother-in-law.

(my grandmother, of course)

But he was always willing to help whenever he could.

He loved cats...

...and Spooki loved back (as only a cat can). 

These two were nearly inseparable.

See what I mean?

As for this photo? I just love it.

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Couch Potato Day #2

Just like my first Couch Potato Day today is again 'prep' day for my second PET scan.

Here are the instructions sent from the hospital:

I've known about this appointment for nearly two months and in that time have been hoping and praying there would be no snowstorms this week until after the scan is completed.
Here's why: during my first PET scan experience one of the radiology techs, as they were explaining the procedure and the importance of needing to rest the day before and also resting about 60 minutes after the IV injection of FDG (Fluoro Deoxyglucose) and its purpose in identifying cancerous or cells repairing damaged tissue during the scan, told me about a guy who had been in several months before during a snow storm. The scan results showed almost all of his body 'glowing' which is not good ('glow' usually indicates bad cellular activity) and caused some alarm. I asked if it was due to white knuckle driving on his way to the exam they said "No" and explained while it had been snowing for several days before this guys PET scan they'd discovered he had been out shoveling all that time instead of 'couch potato-ing' like he should have been. All his shoveling efforts had put strain on his muscles and the body was still in 'muscle repair mode' that showed up on his scan. I breathed a sigh of relief that day since it was June and I hadn't needed to deal with snow and clearing it off my acres of driveway and sidewalks. Now you know why this week I've been extremely grateful for the rain we've had the past few days and the snow that has fallen way up in the mountains where it belongs!

Then...to keep things interesting, for the past two days my mother has been sick and I've not gotten the sleep I should have and am hoping this time her P&P (don't ask) is of short duration so I can get the the mental relaxation called for in those instructions above. Last night I got into bed about 2:00am but then stayed up watching on TV (counts as 'rest' to me...?bed potato?) some Curling events from the Olympics--my goal is to figure out better how that game is played. Anyway, as I could hear mom up and walking around this morning I slept in late and so my breakfast/lunch was a yummy steak (my reward treat!) with a side of cheese. Dinner will probably be some hot dogs, since the chicken is still frozen, and a green salad. Currently working on my second 44 ounce glass of water. I'm floating!

While I would really, really, really like the PET scan results to show no cancer activity whatsoever, my guess is there will still be activity showing but less than the original scan. How much less? I'm hoping for something like "significant" rather than "moderate" but won't find out until a week from tomorrow at next regular appointment with my oncologist immediately followed by my first "maintenance" chemotherapy.



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