The Alien Within: 39 – Radioactive for a day!
Traffic Jams & Buses…
Early start today! PET Scan to attend and the A14 to tackle in the rush hour…
I was making good progress on the first part of my journey, the A1, but that all changed when I hit the A14! This was to be expected, so came as no surprise and certainly did not perturb me as I had allowed more than enough time to negotiate this notorious stretch of England’s major route network.
Incidentally, it was also the first time I had properly put Waze through its paces and I have to say I am surprisingly impressed with it:
WAZE – Get the best route, every day, with real–time help from other drivers.
Waze is the world’s largest community-based traffic and navigation app. Join other drivers in your area who share real-time traffic and road info, saving everyone time and gas money on their daily commute.
WAZE. OUTSMARTING TRAFFIC, TOGETHER.
And best of all? It’s FREE from > The Apple App Store < Linky!
The only thing that is frustrating me is getting Waze to talk to me when in Navigation mode. But as a SatNav replacement it seems to be quite accomplished and the real time functionality is certainly different, and it seems to work rather well. It will be my go to navigation aid for now.
Waze did warn me about the A14 problems, but it also let me know the traffic was moving and the delay was no more than five or ten minutes, depending on where I happened to be at the time. Finding alternatives to this really awful stretch of highway, more often than not, means lengthy diversions. Not really appropriate unless a serious accident has blocked it altogether.
Activated…
The reason for my early morning travels on the second highway to hell, was to get to Addenbrookes in time for my 1030hrs PET Scan appointment. I made it three quarters of an hour early. However, this did not entitle me to be sorted any earlier.
After changing into the too sexy hospital gown, being briefed, weighed, measured and kitted out with a cannula, I was injected with a radioactive sugar solution, all washed down (or in) with the usual saline solution. The idea of the radioactive particles is, apparently, they seek out and attach themselves to the Alien’s cells, which are then more easily detected by the PET Scanner.
And no, despite the shiny pate, that is not me… lol
To save you checking back to my first mention, or googling it: PET stands for positron emission tomography.
After the radioactive gloop is injected, one is expected to sit quietly and relaxed for about 60 minutes, before being called through for one’s scan. This is to allow the radioactive particles to travel around the various parts and extremities to do their thing.
Once called through for the scan itself, it is then just a case of laying flat and very still, for the treaty minutes, or so, while the big round donut does its business. All totally painless, until one tries to move one’s arms and legs after twenty minutes of inaction in awkward positions. After which I was free to go, following a change back to my own clothes, ridding myself of the trendy hospital gown donned for the scan.
And that’s it for the PET Scan, at least until Thursday afternoon when I attend Peterborough City Hospital for my pre Chemo Cycle 3 consultation and, hopefully, get to hear the results of the scan.
Other than that, the improvement in energy and diminishing of side effects continues in the right direction.
Oh, and I arrived home to a surprise package – a sort of early birthday/Christmas present to me, or rather to my new truck… 🙂
Exciting…
NEXT: Cycle 2 – Day 17