Thankfully, my friend, Jan, was kind enough to come into this unknown territory as moral support. Looking back, I really wish I had asked for mortal support during my biopsy, which turned out to be more difficult and painful than I had expected, so I was delighted to accept Jan's offer of company during this procedure.
We made it to the office and had to fight a bit with the financial end of things. Even though I had already shelled out hundreds and hundreds of dollars to various doctors in the previous few days and weeks, none of those claims had been filed with my insurance, so I was liable, according yo their records, for the full $800 (or so) bill. What an expensive adventure this was turning out to be. (As a side note, once the insurance caught up with my claims, I only owed this place about $15.)
After paying, they took my order. Did I want a chocolate or vanilla drink? Oh, they were out of vanilla. A delicious chocolate shake, I guess! I had to drink down this awful, thick, chalky, "chocolate" in order to provide the needed contrast for my CT scan. Yuck!
The fun was just beginning, though. Next they took me back to get my vitals snd prep me for an IV. Of course, they had troubles getting that in. I hate IVs!!! It was not a pleasant star, and then it just got weirder. In comes the tech with what looked to be s scene straight out of Back to the Future. She was in full gear, holding a silver, metallic tube with that lovely radioactive sign on the side. I asked if she was holding some plutonium and how safe could that be to inject inside me if she was wearing so much protective gear. She explained it was it was a glucose solution with a small amount of radioactive material that would be used to detect cancerous cells. As soon as this plutonium went in, it chilled me to the bone. I was so cold! I had to sit under warm blankets until the next tech came to get me to start my scans.
First, was the CT scan. I was in the room alone, on the machine, which I had been told by a few people would be loud and claustrophobic. The machine was a flat bed that went into a tube shaped portion. The tech was outside the room and explained about remaining perfectly still and following directions completely. I could hear the tech speaking and the machine starting, but it was a quiet humming. I was alone with my thoughts, which consisted mostly of the song "Radioactive" playing over and over, knowing the radioactive material that was coursing though my veins. I was told to take a deep breath and hold. After a few seconds, "you can breath." That process occured several more times and after what felt like only a few minutes, the first scan was over.
The radioactive solution had to sit in me for 2 hours, so I had some time to kill before the next scan. My car was nearly on empty, so Jan and I went searching for gas and picked up a few snacks. It was nice to chat and try to take my mind off the heaviness of it all. We explored a bit and then headed back. Sadly, I had another procedure ahead of me.
This time, I laid down on a machine that reminded me of a large press. I had to remain perfectly still again, but this machine had a large, flat panel that slowly lowered down until it was centimeters from my face. Once there, the bottom bed slowly moved so that my entire body was scanned. Often, the scans have to be redone if the pictures aren't clear enough for good results, but I got it on my first try! The tech told me my body was very photogenic. I even got to see the picture of my scan. It was awesome to see my body, tissues, bones, and all! I really wanted that image to time with me! I wasn't able to get results out of the techs, but they left me with a positive feeling.
And just like that, the scans were over and it was time to go home! Soon enough I would hear the good news that my scans didn't reveal any new cancerous areas!
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