February 27, 2018 - Bone Scan - Chest scan and other not fun things
We really want to be optimistic about things and are trying but it can be tough. Just as you think you have jumped a hurdle, you see another one in front of you. This is probably happening to all people that are battling cancer and other life threatening diseases. So we went to a St. Thomas Hospital testing building in Murfreesboro. They had to hook him up to an IV so they could inject him with nuclear matter for the bone scan. With this test, they inject you and then they scan you 4 hours later so you have a little time to kill while waiting. In Greg's case, he had to go across the hall to the Pet scan - Cat Scan which is really CT scan but I think calling it Cat Scan office to get his chest scanned.
The oncologist was making sure that even though the cat scan he had in December showed that the cancer had not spread outside the bladder to lymph nodes and other organs in that area, it did not reflect whether it was in his lungs or his bones.
Greg lives with daily back pain from herniated discs from a back injury dating back to 2007. As he gets older, the pain has gotten worse because the discs continue to degenerate. One of the signs of bladder cancer can be lower back pain. Since Greg's back pain has gotten worse over the past year, the oncologist wanted to make sure that Greg's spine and lungs were cancer free. Cancer in those areas would still be bladder cancer that spread (as he explained to me) but it would dictate how we would go forward and whate treatment would be recommended.
We knew that he was having the tests on Monday and would get the results on Tuesday when we saw the oncologist. By the way, both Urologists and the Oncologist had mentioned that they saw "something" on the original cat scan done in November without contrast but didn't think it was anything to worry about.
Well we were worried about it. Anyhow, after the scans, we went home and neither one of us got a good nights sleep. We waited in the oncologists office literally holding our breath. When the doctor walked in, he didn't make us wait. He immediately said the "scans were clear." I busted out in tears and he handed me a box of tissues. I was so relieved that the staging was not being changed to a higher stage.
Stage 2 Bladder Cancer is still bad but it definitely ups the odds of being able to beat this monster. We were still walking options and we told Dr. McDuffie that we wanted to talk to Greg's GP, (we call him Tim.) He may even be reading this and if he is, hi Tim. You see Tim has been taking great care of Greg for over 7 years and we value his opinion so much.
The next step was setting up an appointment to see Tim and to set up an appointment to see the surgeon who would be installing a port for chemo into Greg's chest. No matter what we decided on for treatment, the port was necessary. We met with Tim and had a great albeit emotional conversation. Both Tim and Dr. McDuffie who's first name is Jeremy agreed on the treatment plan we were leaning toward.
We really want to be optimistic about things and are trying but it can be tough. Just as you think you have jumped a hurdle, you see another one in front of you. This is probably happening to all people that are battling cancer and other life threatening diseases. So we went to a St. Thomas Hospital testing building in Murfreesboro. They had to hook him up to an IV so they could inject him with nuclear matter for the bone scan. With this test, they inject you and then they scan you 4 hours later so you have a little time to kill while waiting. In Greg's case, he had to go across the hall to the Pet scan - Cat Scan which is really CT scan but I think calling it Cat Scan office to get his chest scanned.
The oncologist was making sure that even though the cat scan he had in December showed that the cancer had not spread outside the bladder to lymph nodes and other organs in that area, it did not reflect whether it was in his lungs or his bones.
Greg lives with daily back pain from herniated discs from a back injury dating back to 2007. As he gets older, the pain has gotten worse because the discs continue to degenerate. One of the signs of bladder cancer can be lower back pain. Since Greg's back pain has gotten worse over the past year, the oncologist wanted to make sure that Greg's spine and lungs were cancer free. Cancer in those areas would still be bladder cancer that spread (as he explained to me) but it would dictate how we would go forward and whate treatment would be recommended.
We knew that he was having the tests on Monday and would get the results on Tuesday when we saw the oncologist. By the way, both Urologists and the Oncologist had mentioned that they saw "something" on the original cat scan done in November without contrast but didn't think it was anything to worry about.
Well we were worried about it. Anyhow, after the scans, we went home and neither one of us got a good nights sleep. We waited in the oncologists office literally holding our breath. When the doctor walked in, he didn't make us wait. He immediately said the "scans were clear." I busted out in tears and he handed me a box of tissues. I was so relieved that the staging was not being changed to a higher stage.
Stage 2 Bladder Cancer is still bad but it definitely ups the odds of being able to beat this monster. We were still walking options and we told Dr. McDuffie that we wanted to talk to Greg's GP, (we call him Tim.) He may even be reading this and if he is, hi Tim. You see Tim has been taking great care of Greg for over 7 years and we value his opinion so much.
The next step was setting up an appointment to see Tim and to set up an appointment to see the surgeon who would be installing a port for chemo into Greg's chest. No matter what we decided on for treatment, the port was necessary. We met with Tim and had a great albeit emotional conversation. Both Tim and Dr. McDuffie who's first name is Jeremy agreed on the treatment plan we were leaning toward.
We met with the surgeon and schedule the procedure for February 26, 2018. That was yesterday. We had to be at the hospital by 8:00 a.m., yeah, I know, the Wilson's don't do 8:00 a.m., like ever. We were both so nervous about missing the appointment that we have terrible broken sleep all night. We got up on time and made it to the hospital. We chose to have this done at our local hospital. Dr. McDuffie works closely with a surgeon there and has total faith in him. We trust McDuffie and after meeting the surgeon, we felt comfortable with him too.
He made sure to put the port on the left side so it wouldn't interfere with Greg playing guitar. We explained that there are very few things left that Greg enjoys doing so he made sure Greg still could. The installation went well and we were home by 2:00 p.m. yesterday. Greg napped a lot today but so far so good. He is schedule to have his first chemo next week. A battle plan has been created and we will go forward next week after a little healing of the port happens. Please keep the prayers coming and please feel free to share this blog. I started a fundraiser on Facebook because as you can imagine, the bills are coming in fast and furious.
I want to thank all the people that have contributed and shared so far. We appreciate and need every single dollar!! Please check out our CD's, DVD's & Books page right here at our website. They may make a great gift for you or someone you know and you know the money will be going to help us fight this battle.
We love you all for reading. Take care and we will be back soon.
Love Donna & Greg - a/k/a Nolan Wilson
He made sure to put the port on the left side so it wouldn't interfere with Greg playing guitar. We explained that there are very few things left that Greg enjoys doing so he made sure Greg still could. The installation went well and we were home by 2:00 p.m. yesterday. Greg napped a lot today but so far so good. He is schedule to have his first chemo next week. A battle plan has been created and we will go forward next week after a little healing of the port happens. Please keep the prayers coming and please feel free to share this blog. I started a fundraiser on Facebook because as you can imagine, the bills are coming in fast and furious.
I want to thank all the people that have contributed and shared so far. We appreciate and need every single dollar!! Please check out our CD's, DVD's & Books page right here at our website. They may make a great gift for you or someone you know and you know the money will be going to help us fight this battle.
We love you all for reading. Take care and we will be back soon.
Love Donna & Greg - a/k/a Nolan Wilson
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