Tests, Tests and more Tests!!

Once again the waiting continues.  My biopsy results are still not in, and I was told to come back to the Cancer Center on Thursday.  It will be over 3 weeks since I had the biopsy and the only result I got out of it was it is not Non Hodgkin's lymphoma.  What is taking them so long to obtain a prognosis?!  I am praying it is nothing really bad if it is not lymphoma. 


I went to my family doctor and she does not agree it is lymphoma.  The blood results do not match what should be shown if it is cancer.  She is going to be discussing other tests with my oncologist to move the diagnosis quicker.  I will probably be taking the bone marrow test shortly as well at a PET scan, (Positron Emission Tomography). PET works by providing a dynamic image of the body's interior. Instead of taking a picture of the bones, like an X-ray, or the internal organs and soft tissue, like a MRI, PET lets doctors visualize the body's metabolism. Cells use the simple sugar glucose as a source of energy. By tracking how much glucose is metabolized in different areas of the body, PET enables physicians to map the body's use of the fuel.  In order to see the glucose, nuclear medicine physicians attach radioactive tracers to a chemical cousin of glucose. When the mix is injected in a patient, the scanner and computer work together to create an image. Because cancer cells are dividing rapidly, they break down glucose at a much higher rate than most normal cells and the increased activity can show up on a scan. In this way, doctors can see both primary and metastatic tumors. PET scans differ from conventional CAT because this newer test is better able to detect much smaller, microscopic amounts of cancer cells that have been left over after treatment and to verify that a suspicious mass is truly cancer. CAT, on the other hand, is only able to detect larger masses, and only a surgical procedure, or biopsy, can verify that the CAT-detected mass is cancer.  A PET scan can verify that even small masses are cancerous because the technique uses a type of sugar, or glucose, that glows. Cancer cells ingest larger amounts of glucose than normal cells, so they glow "hotter" than normal cells. So while CAT can identify suspicious masses based on their size, PET scans can identify masses that are cancerous based on their behavior. PET scans can be used in place of biopsy in some patients suspected of having lung cancer, and helps to guide treatment.

My family doctor requested I stay home until a diagnosis is made.  That means being the girl in the bubble for days or even weeks.  I need speak to my human resource department and see if I can go on disability or FLMA (Family Medical Leave Act).  I have not missed this much work since I was 18 when I started to get anxiety attacks.  I was out of work for a month because of this and I was also agoraphobic. 

Wednesday I will also be visiting a gastrologist and will be scheduling the colonoscopy.  I was told I would not have that procedure that day since I have to drink something the night before.  Great more appointments.  I just want to pull my hair out.  I want to collapse on the floor and just cry my eyes out.  Unfortunately, I ran outof tears weeks ago.