A Preliminary Reading

Well, today was the Nuclear Bone Scan. For those not used to the terminology, that basically means that I was injected with a material that binds to the active cells in the bones and emits particles that a fancy geiger counter can "see".

Granted, that is a horribly simplified explanation, but it works. The "camera" simply sees radioactive decay particles and plots them. Over time, you end up with an outline of the bones and some other areas. The brighter the area, the more decay particles. The brighter the area, the higher the probability of cells that are running at a fast metabolic rate. Again, a simplification, but it works.

So, on to my reading of the scan. First off, the only reason that I can guess at this is having a bit of the theory, and a bit of experience in seeing these scans--the fruits of many years working in the Emergency Department.

From what I saw, the left Femur (thigh) lesion is confirmed; whether cancer or a bunch of cells fixing a fracture I cannot say. The Kidneys are definitely a hot spot with some funky dark spots on the left. A good friend tells me that the dark areas probably mean that there are dead areas in the left kidney. The other interestingly bright area is in the region of the bladder; not surprising as the nucleotide is cleared by the kidneys and at the end of the test I was desperate to pee ;)

So, all in all, not too bad a scan--as far as I can tell. I'll get back when I see the real reading. Moving forward I am looking at going to the Orthopaedic Oncologist for the femur lesion; and then off to the Urologist for the left kidney removal. With luck this will all happen by the end of January, but I am not looking forward to having a titanium rod shoved into my thigh. Ah well, what is, will be.

On the chemo front the side effects are not too bad this time. The GI stuff is a bit of a bother, but seems better today.

Not too much on the home front; we are looking forward to tramping thru the forest this weekend and picking out a Christmas tree. With a bit of luck we will even manage to get it decorated this weekend. Speaking of that, what in the world do they tell kids now a days? My daughter is deathly afraid that a "real" tree will catch on fire, and that says that we have to get a "fake" tree. Ah, don't get me started. They can't sing Silent Night at their Winter Festival, but they can sing O Hannukah. Yet another symptom that the Judeo-Christian origins of the US are being sundered, and the States are dead. All hail the Politically Correct interpretation of (dis) reality!

Anyway, enough depressing stuff. Today was a good day. I am alive, the family is alive, and we are all healthy.

Two quick notes. For those who have been reading this blog, I have good news and bad news about some of the people that I have mentioned.

Last week my Aunt Noelle passed from this earth. She fought a long and valiant fight against some disease that they still cannot diagnose. She was a wonderful person and has enriched the lives of all of us that knew her. Noelle, I will miss you. Say hello to momma for me.

As for my office mate, he is doing well, and evidently living without a kidney is not too bad. According to all of the work-ups he has no metastases and should be fine. Let this be so.

Please pray for them both during this holiday season.

Be well, and remember that it is the little things that count. Read more!