Pet oh PET

I've done so many scans, x-rays, ultra-sounds that I don't even give them a second thought nor they bother me. I just take my Om Kalthoums Enta 3omry cd and ask them to play it and I forget I'm being scanned or what have you.

BUT..

PET Scans are a different story, I get so angry when I have to do one because it's no usual scan, no easy scan, NO. PETs are long, torturous, and exhausting, and I absolutely hate doing them.

PET- Positron Emission Tomography. That my friends is the mother bitch of ALL scans. It's the one where they inject you with radioactive substance in order to see if there is any active cancer cells in your body, and afterwards i have to avoid contact with children under 5 and pregnant women as I will be emitting radiation. Ya far7ty. My next scan is on the 5th of April.

To begin with I must fast for 6 hours prior to the scan. Upon arrival, I'm assigned a room and a nurse, I get the routine 1001 questions asked and sign the 'swear on all that is holy I'm not pregnant' form. Then begins the fun, I get my finger pricked to check sugar levels (which I hate more than injections) if within required levels then I'm cannulated.

This is the freaky part, the nurse leaves and comes back with either a metal case or a leaded tin like the above picture. Inside is my radioactive tracer i.e. injection. I always freak out and feel like I'm in the twilight zone or X-Men movie when I'm about to injected. The injection is slowly administered and after completion the cannula is immediately taken out. You think the bad part is over ? Ohh not even close! After injection I MUST lie down for exactly ONE HOUR WITHOUT MOVEMENT so my body can absorb the tracer. FUN. Plus it must be a warm room that I'm in so my muscles are relaxed and my body isn't tensed.

Note: because of the extensive damage done to my spine and hip from the lovely tumour and cancer I cannot lie on my back or hard surfaces for more than couple of minutes without getting serious pains. But who gives a fuck they don't care and I must endure a 2 hour long scan.

After laying still in the room for an hour, nurse returns and takes me to the scanning suite. I then have to endure another 45min to an hour long scan. Again I must remain unbelievably still or I have to repeat the scan. For the duration inside a machine similar to that of a MRI, I get shoved in and out of it till I'm done.

Here comes the torture if the above wasn't enough. Because of the scans hard surface I've been laying on, it is impossible for me to move, I slowly shift left and right and with help of nurse get off of the machine. By this time 1000 tears are flowing down my face, held by a nurse, can't stand straight and take one step at a time till I return to the room to change and leave. I usually have my pain meds with me and take them the second I reach them.

This ladies and gents will be my 4th PET scan.
Hope you enjoyed the descriptive experiance.