Today was my quarterly CT scan to see if there was any metabolic activity in either one of my cancers: Lymphoma and Melanoma.
Unlike PET scans, patients can eat or drink anything they want right up to the point that they start the machine. Actually, a few minutes before because you have to lay down on this movable rack and they have to position your head and knees and arms.
Prior to any of this, a nurse must insert an IV line into your arm but in my case, I have a port for them to access so they have to call upon a more skilled nurse. Wait time is usually 30 minutes or more depending upon how busy they are.
However, I was there at 7:30 am this morning and those nurses start at 8:00 am so I was the first person on his list.
Once the line is hooked up, they start they insert some kind of dye into your body that makes you feel like you have to go to the bathroom or for some that you peed in your pants.
The actually test is 3 passes in the machine and patients are usually in and out in less than 5 minutes.
The machine is like a huge doughnut hole so only a fraction of your body is inside the machine and the rack that you lay on can slide so that from your head down to your feet can be scanned.
A PET scan, you are a lot more enclosed... almost your entire body... and, it moves much slower so a PET scan will take about 15-20 minutes and for a while there is the feeling that you are in a coffin. I usually tilt my head back so I can see outside the machine and that helps.
An MRI is different and you are totally enclosed and I have to be knocked out for that scan to happen. I have only had one so far... knock on wood as they say...
