Category Archives: hospitals

ct scan results

12 Tuesday Nov 2019

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Picked up my CT scan results today. I’m so glad my GP will print out a copy for me once the report has been uploaded onto the hospital database. Then I type it out in Spanish and put it through google translate (with medical terminology it’s pretty accurate). And then I read it. Because I know it will be weeks before I get another appointment with my oncologist and it’s good not to feel in the dark all that time.

Anyhow, remember last year after my November 2018 CT scan when my oncologist told me I was fine now, cancer free for ten years, so I didn’t need any more scans, but you know, I should come back if I’m ever in pain? And I thought, fuck that shit, by the time you are in pain with cancer you are practically dead (as I found out back in 2008).

So I convinced her to at least let me have an ultrasound, which happened late last summer. And guess what? They saw something on my liver that they felt warranted an MRI. Meanwhile, my mystery pain came back (again!), so then my oncologist agreed to another CT scan, instead of an MRI, which she said was a more “complete” test.

All I can say is… damn good thing I am still getting tested! The report from last week’s scan is a mixed bag of inconclusiveness, but there is concern about “this and that”, so it looks like more testing is on the horizon. Not going to go into details now since nothing has been confirmed, but they could not entirely rule out more cancer, along with a few other new “issues” which have kind of left me reeling. On the other hand, it may all be nothing but inflammation from previous operations and illnesses. Me? I’ve gone numb. And am keeping on with my daily walks. There’s nothing else I can do for the moment.

it’s scan day

04 Monday Nov 2019

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After my last bout of “difficultitis” early last month the day has finally come for the next CT scan. Usually I get a morning appointment, which is preferable, but today it’s not until 7.30 pm. This means I’m pretty much spending all day gearing up for going. Kind of a drag, but oh well. The usual scanxiety is less, simply because I know I won’t be getting any results today, and who knows when my next oncology appointment will happen. But at the end of the week I’ll get in touch with my GP and ask him to print out a copy of the report. Fingers crossed!

difficultitis

07 Monday Oct 2019

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Difficultitis – a chronic condition arising from repeatedly trying to get your doctor to take your complaints seriously. Symptoms include frustration (mild or otherwise), a sense of helplessness, loss of sleep and occasional tears. Although the cause has been well established there is so far no known cure.

I went to see the oncologist today fully armed with notes and print outs of the results from my last ultrasound and blood test, ready to tell her about my latest bout of diverticulitis, and ask about getting a blood test to check for possible infection. And well, that almost happened.

First of all, the possibility of having diverticulitis was shot down when I was told that my last colonoscopy (done a month after I had the first abdominal pain episode) didn’t show any evidence of diverticula, hence they couldn’t be inflamed if they’re not there. Okay…

So I went through my questions and the doctor said that, because of the new pain issue,  instead of an MRI (which had been recommended after the ultrasound) I’d be having a CAT scan. Even though I’d read that an MRI is much better than a CAT for detecting liver problems I was assured that a CAT was a preferred “two birds with one stone” approach. So, okay…

I asked the doctor if she had any idea what might be causing the abdominal pain (accompanied by shooting pain in my right arm and shoulder, just like the previous time) and she said no, and that this was why I was getting another CAT scan. And that was it.

My feeling is the liver issue is probably more important than this recurring abdominal pain thing, so a more specific test for that might be better? Rather than a shotgun approach to check out the entire abdominal area. Oh, and I had mentioned that the previous time I went to emergency with the belly pain they did a blood test to check for infection, but then forgot to ask if I should do this again, especially as I am supposed to be travelling next week and the CAT scan probably won’t be for a couple of weeks at least. So now I’m left waiting again.

I really miss my old oncologist. I felt she actually listened to me. Sadly she ended up with cancer and retired shortly afterwards. I mean, this new one is better than some of the awful ones I’ve experienced, but I just don’t feel “heard”, if you know what I mean.

blood!

14 Wednesday Aug 2019

Posted by in cancer, casa azahar, home, hope, hospitals, sevilla

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WARNING: although this looks like a Jackson Pollock (it’s actually BLOOD!) the rest of this post might be a bit TMI for some of you. Nothing gross or anything, just, you know, perhaps somewhat more info than you may want to know about. So you have been warned. And it’s totally fine if you don’t want to carry on reading…

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back in the jag!

15 Tuesday Jan 2019

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So remember last June when I went to get my CT scan results at the hospital only to be told they hadn’t been completed yet? And that the saving grace of that whole debacle was being driven to the hospital in Spain’s ONLY Jaguar taxi??? Well, it happened again today. The Jaguar bit. The test results were all there today.

I mean, what are the odds? I didn’t even notice I was back in the Jag until I slid into the back seat (the driver held the door open for me) and saw THAT LOGO on the dashboard. And then I got all fan girl again, asking Pedro if he was still the only Jaguar taxi in Spain (he is) and also asking if I could get a card from him this time (which is how I know his name now). And then I thought… maybe this is a good sign, that everything is going to be alright.

Well, after waiting over an hour in Oncology I got to see my doctor, and she told me that I appear to be cancer free. Good news, right? Except I am still processing all this.

Since the PET scan a year ago that set off alarm bells, when the “area of inflammation” that has been showing up on my PET scans since 2008 had increased dramatically (previously it had been slowly shrinking), I have undergone a whack of testing: colonoscopy, endoscopy, several blood tests and 3 CT scans (latest CT was in November). And now, apparently, I am fine.

Well, that’s good! Glad to hear it, and all that. But now what? I mean, really, now what? My oncologist told me today that after ten years “cancer free” patients are given the “alta” (not sure what this is called in English) and regular scans and check ups are no longer required. I was told that if I experience pain or other symptoms, that they will check me again. Otherwise… nuthin’?

I don’t know. I mean, I am obviously happy that they have decided I am cancer-free after all this time. But, you know, I had fucking stage-4 colon cancer with metastisis to my liver and peritoneum and, to this day, none of my doctors understand why I am still here. I also know that by the time you feel pain caused by cancer you are already pretty much a goner. It’s the preventative testing that saves lives. So why am I getting kicked out of this option?

Okay, I wasn’t totally being shown the door. Because when I asked the doctor what sort of “control testing” they would be doing with me from this point on… well, she caved and said that they could do an abdominal ultrasound with blood tests in six months. And okay fine… I’ll take it.

I mean, I get it. CT scans are expensive, and PET scans even more so. In comparison an ultrasound is nothing. But once you’ve been through all I have gone through, and have talked with so many doctors, and never feeling like you are getting the whole story… it’s hard to believe you’re being told the whole truth. But for now, this is what I have.