Time for a Port and another PETScan

Well, yesterday did not go as well as we had hoped for. Despite my efforts to drink an entire ocean of water, my veins were still not hydrated enough. It took three attempts again and a lot of stingying and pain. Apparently I have been poked so many times that my skin has developed enough scar tissue that it is near impossible to get in. So next week we are planning on putting the port in, which is aabout a 2-hour day surgery process. I will be going up to Rexburg to have Dr. Christensen do it, as he has a wealth of experience in this procedure. My pre-op appointment with him is Monday. We will schedule the surgery at that appointment but tentatively we are looking at Thursday. The port will be a good thing, so that whenever I have to have blood drawn or have an IV, they can go through the port instead of continuing to beat up my hand, wrist and arm.

The other thing, that we have mixed feelings about is the current readings on my calicium intake, my liver readings and the degree of pain that I am in. My calicium is a little elevated but not at "my normal" levels, so there has been a drop, there has also been a drop in my liver readings. So Tuesday, I go in a PETScan. I will be heavily sedated so that my claustrophobia doesn't get the best of me, like last time. The purpose of the scan is to "restage" the cancer and see if it has spread or if it has remained the same. There is a slight possiblity that my liver readings are off because of the amount of tyneol and iburprofen I have been taking and that the pain may be because of muscle and nerve damage. But we won't know anything for sure until we run the tests. So next week will be interesting.

That's all for now. I hope you enjoy your Christmas preparations. Love, Sheryl