5th December 2017
Baddestist news possible?
Dr Hollington didn’t tell me that he had booked a
2-week-wait appointment (2WW), nor that he’d requested two sets of CT scans,
one urgent, the other not.
The 2WW Lower GI-Gastroenterology appointment at Lister
with Dr. Greenfield was on Wednesday 29th November. He prodded and
probed with no great enlightenment. He seemed puzzled at the site of the pain,
which he concluded was from the bone in the groin/pelvis area.
He booked me in for a colonoscopy – but said that the
results of the CT scan happening on Friday might obviate the need for the
colonoscopy.
I’ve not heard from him since, although he did write to
Dr. Hollington.
I phoned the hospital on Thursday, as I had two separate
CT scan appointment dates. I managed to persuade them to do them both together
in the morning. So on Friday off I toddled. They now tell you to put on two
gowns, one the right way round (open at the back) the other the wrong way round
(open at the front). Why don’t they just tell you to come in your pyjamas? They
put in a cannula so that they can inject an iodine-based contrast once the
scanning process is underway.
I asked the nurse what the difference was between a CT
scan and a PET scan – she didn’t know. (See end of this blog).
On Monday 4th December Mr Raey-Jones did the
colonoscopy. The night before you have to take stuff to clear the bowel. Man
that is not nice! Row drove me down because I was to be sedated; but awake
enough to watch the screen showing the path of the endoscope and I watched in
dismay as lumps were found and I watched with foreboding when a sample was
taken of one of them.
And I listened in shock when Mr Reay-Jones told me of his
findings.
The next shock was being sent for a lung MRI scan on that
Thursday at the QEII hospital.
But the mindnumbingliest biggestist shock was the meeting
with Mr Reay-Jones on 14th December. It’s cancer. It’s spread. It’s
not curable.
Mr Reay-Jones is in the right job. He is an arrogant
arse-hole who is clearly up himself. In view of my previous experience with
cancer meetings, where your brain shuts down, I told him that I would be
recording the meeting. He said no. He said I would have had to have got
permission before hand. He said it was his preference.
Those who know me from my worklife will not be surprised
to learn that he backed down. He could not explain WHY it was his
decision/preference/choice. He stood up and tried to CANCEL the meeting. So I
told him quietly that I was angry and I explained that as a result of his
action I was even less likely to hear anything he said. Do you know what the
arrogant man said next – On this occasion I will allow it – like when is he
ever going to tell me again that I’ve got terminal cancer.
So the meeting was recorded. His opening statement: “For
my benefit, tell me what I told you last time”. I looked at him. While I
mentally got around doing this “For his benefit” and while I got round the
enormity of what he’d told me.
His remorseless approach in the following minutes was
designed to suppress all hope. There’s no point in getting fit. There’s no
point in changing your diet, either to get healthier or to gain weight prior to
treatment.
His relentless despite of people continued with the
statement “You have issues with your tummy”. Even when I asked if he meant
peritoneum, he would not disclose information. So I asked for a print of my
medical records and he said no. He said I would have to apply for them. He said
he didn’t know how that was done. He didn’t offer to find out.
He said the next step was to meet with the oncologist in
over a month’s time, and after a second examination of the biopsied polyp in
the colon had taken place. The nurse said 10th January and she
explained how to get my medical records.
CT vs PET
A CT (computed tomography) scan uses x-ray technology to
create detailed images of the body and inner body structures. CT scans expose
the body to a moderate amount of radiation. CT scans are quick, painless, and
completely non-invasive.
PET (positron emission tomography) scans are most
commonly used to detect cancers, heart problems, brain disorders, and problems
with the nervous system. PET scans utilize molecular imaging. Molecular imaging
is a very precise way of detecting disease on the cellular and molecular level.
PET scans work by injecting a tiny amount of radioactive tracers into the
bloodstream, which the PET scan machine can then detect and analyze via 3D
images. PET scans take between 2-4 hours to complete, and are significantly
more expensive than CT scans. The radiation exposure of a PET scan is about the
same as an x-ray. PET scans are excellent at analyzing the biological processes
of the body and at detecting pathology such as cancer at the very earliest
stages.
For better
explanation that also compares MRI scans, see
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