Spent the day in the hospital today trying to look for a blood clot which may or may not be in my lungs. I have had some shortness of breath, and while it is probably NOT a blood clot, that is the first thing to rule out. I was supposed to have a CT scan with contrast, but because I had contrast yesterday for the MRI, the preliminary blood work showed that my kidneys are already working too hard.
The CT scan was canceled, and instead I got a shot to help protect my kidneys. Tomorrow, I am going in for a different type of scan. Amazingly, it is not one that I have had before. It is a scintigraphy scan, or affectionately, the gamma camera. It will also be checking on the slightly swollen lymph nodes that showed up on my PET scan that I had about 2 months ago.
Good news, the MRI came back negative. I do not appear to have lymphoma in the blood vessels around the brain. I try not to stress out about these sorts of things, but that is still a relief. It is not usually something that one gets better from. We still don't know what is going on with the swollen lymph node on my right superclavical area, or the less swollen one on the other side. Those are still concerns, but I have a reasonable chance even if they are signs of relapse. Not good chances, mind you, but I haven't had good chances yet, so I will take what I can. :)
Tomorrow, after the scintigraphy scan, we will be headed for my checkup at DHMC. We drive out on Wednesday and my appointments are Thursday morning. I am packing with the possibility that they may keep me for a while. It is likely that they are going to want to take a biopsy of the lymph node once they see it. It is not just a little needle draw either - apparently they slice off a chunk. On the up side, I will get to see all the great night nurses that I have not seen since I was discharged in February.
Leif
The CT scan was canceled, and instead I got a shot to help protect my kidneys. Tomorrow, I am going in for a different type of scan. Amazingly, it is not one that I have had before. It is a scintigraphy scan, or affectionately, the gamma camera. It will also be checking on the slightly swollen lymph nodes that showed up on my PET scan that I had about 2 months ago.
Good news, the MRI came back negative. I do not appear to have lymphoma in the blood vessels around the brain. I try not to stress out about these sorts of things, but that is still a relief. It is not usually something that one gets better from. We still don't know what is going on with the swollen lymph node on my right superclavical area, or the less swollen one on the other side. Those are still concerns, but I have a reasonable chance even if they are signs of relapse. Not good chances, mind you, but I haven't had good chances yet, so I will take what I can. :)
Tomorrow, after the scintigraphy scan, we will be headed for my checkup at DHMC. We drive out on Wednesday and my appointments are Thursday morning. I am packing with the possibility that they may keep me for a while. It is likely that they are going to want to take a biopsy of the lymph node once they see it. It is not just a little needle draw either - apparently they slice off a chunk. On the up side, I will get to see all the great night nurses that I have not seen since I was discharged in February.
Leif
Happy to hear good MRI news and hoping for more of the same from your appointments this morning.
ReplyDeleteAh, not so much. Still, we now have a plan to move forward. It is more than a bump in the road, but (to continue the analogy) less than a car wreck. I was hoping for smooth, linear progress, but it is rare for that to happen with these sorts of treatments.
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