Semi-annual bone scan

On Wednesday I had my semi-annual bone scan. This test lights up any areas of bone activity, such as healing or healed fractures or bone regrowth. It might reveal any new areas of concern for metastases. So it's a pretty useful exam for me.

I checked in and had the chemo nurses access my port-o-cath (I'd rather use that than get a needle stick!). Went down to the nuclear medicine area, where a tech injected a radioactive dye through the port. Then back to the chemo nurses to have the port de-accessed.

There is a 2 hour window of time between when they inject the dye and when I have the exam. I have to drink 24 ounces of water to pee out any remaining dye. I usually go home and relax, have lunch, etc. Then back to the hospital for the scan.

I lie on my back with my arms strapped to my sides on a narrow platform (why are all the platforms narrow?) and go into a scanning tube. Since I wear an eye mask and can listen to tunes through my iPod, it doesn't bother me so much. MRI's are much worse for some reason.

This tech recognized me and said, "This must be about your tenth bone scan!" I told her I hoped to have more scans for many years yet.

I get the results from my oncologist on Tuesday. Since I don't have any pain, I don't expect any unwelcome news. But you never know. This waiting to get results is why scans cause anxiety for so many people.....