Having a PET scan is really no big deal. The techs are really nice, there's usually no wait time to be taken into the exam room and once they give you a shot of dye they take you to a room with comfortable reclining chairs and a t.v. if you care to watch it. I had my Kindle so I turned the TV off. After about 45 minutes, the tech came for me and took me to the room when the PET is. It pretty much like a CAT scan. You lie down on a table that goes in and out of the machine. It takes about 18 minutes. Unlike an MRI it's totally quiet and the machine is sort of split in half, so you don't feel claustrophobic, at least I don't. Anyway, that's the easy part.
The hard part is waiting to get the results. When I last saw my pulmonary doctor I told him I went to see the oncologist and had decided I wanted no part of it. Unlike the surgeon and the pulmonary doctor, who were both very friendly and listened to my concerns, the oncologist was very matter of fact and said that I should do three weeks on and one week off chemo for 4 months. I was given some materials about the drugs I would be given.
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After going over the information, I was more convinced than ever that I did not want to undergo the ordeal of chemotherapy. Maybe if I were younger, maybe if I had children, grandchildren, I would consider, but at my age there is no way I will put myself through it especially since there is no guarantee that it will get rid of any errant cancer cells that are floating around.
My doctor aagreed that I had the right to make the decision. He said that he would want follow up scans so that if the cancer does invade the bones I could get radiation to allieviate the pain.
So here we are. We wait to see what the scan shows this time. Hopefully there has been no change.
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