The next step on this walk
with breast cancer is the PET scan. It’s used to detect cancer in all areas of
the body.
Again, I’m poked by a needle, this time injecting me with a radioactive tracer. The nurse then takes
me into a private room with a recliner. The tracers need about an hour to flow
through me before I get the scan. So, I sit back and the nurse turns on music
to keep me calm. It’s hard not to let your mind worry, but at the same time,
it’s important to think good thoughts. I don’t know the results yet, so why
worry?
Finally, it’s time for the
scan. I head into the room with the familiar tubular machine. I lie down on the
table and slide in and out of the machine, praying to God that I have cancer
nowhere else in my body. I repeat the same affirmation as I did for the MRI, “I
am healthy, whole, and complete.”
When I’m done, the nurse
gives me another warm, chewy cookie! Go me! I deserve it.
Results: There’s NO cancer
anywhere else in my body! Praise God again!
As for the BRCA Gene testing,
I need to do it since my aunt had breast cancer and my grandmother had ovarian
cancer. I choose to spit in a cup in lieu of giving any more of my blood. I’ve
been poked enough!
Results: I test negative for
both the BRCA 1 and BRCA 2 genes. However, they find the ATM gene, but there’s
not sufficient data at this time to determine if it causes increased cancer
risk.
Get a copy of the PET scan on a CD. Ask for it BEFORE the
procedure. YOU are your best advocate! And remember to get copies of all pathology reports and slides! You might
have to hunt them down from various places as I did but you will need these for
your second opinions.
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