CAT scan 2/23/2010

The CAT scan was interesting.. mostly because I never experienced it before and didn't know what to expect. I was told to lay on the bed/table that would slide through what looked like the hole of a donut shaped camera. The CAT scan combines technologies of x-rays and computers to format many cross-sectional pictures of one's body. This was used to further look at the anatomy of my lymph nodes. I was set up with an IV and was told that upon injection of the solution I would feel a "hot flash" sensation, then it would feel like I was peeing my pants. And this was all true (I asked to make sure I wasn't actually peeing my pants- thank goodness I wasn't). The CAT scan itself only took about 5 minutes and the machine gave instructions for breathing and to stay completely still. The ceiling of the room had treetops and the sky pictured to make me feel like I was relaxing in the grass on a beautiful day or maybe I was in a spa. Nice touch, but I still broke out into a nervous sweat.The CAT scan images were put onto a CD instantaneously and I was sent back to Dr. Blaugrund's office with my results. The CAT scan indicated that not only were my collarbone and neck lymph nodes swollen, but my mediastinum (between my lungs) lymph nodes were swollen as well. This is a key indicator of lymphoma, and with these results we were able to eliminate other causes such as infection. (If it was an infection and the mediastinum lymph nodes were as swollen as they are, I would be hospitalized with severe symptoms.) With these results, our talk got a bit more serious. We discussed scheduling an excisional lymph node biopsy, canceling the trip to Orlando, referrals for oncologists, and accepting that my plans for the next year or so would change drastically.Words cannot explain how I felt, but the hardest part was yet to come.. discussing the results with Steve, my parents, family and friends. Up until this point I had control of mostly everything that happened in my life, I never imagined something like this would happen to me. It's interesting how cancer could change your whole perspective of what is truly important. I am in the process of finishing my last semester of pharmacy school, and I am scheduling rotations for the next year. Will I be able to do it all and graduate when planned? I'm not sure. But I do know that my plan is to take life one day at a time and if my schedule is set off by a year or more, it's not the end of the world. I'm ready and determined to fight this.