It Might Get Messy

I’m pretty sure we discussed CT Scan technology in prior entries. But I can’t recall, so we’ll give it a brief refresher here. Fundamentally, Computer Aided Tomography is a hardware and software package that greatly increases the technological reach of the basic X-ray. In its least complex formulation, multiple X-ray beams are combined to yield a series of “slices” of the body, illuminated via the different densities of the internal structures. A more intense version called “spiral” CT, yields three-dimensional representations. Adding an iodine stain to provide contrast between softer and harder materials makes the CT a powerful diagnostic tool. 

I had one this morning. Objective was to ascertain the status of the nodules in my lungs. If they’re bigger, there’s a good chance they’re malignant. Lung cancer at this point would obviate pretty much all other concerns. And given that I’m down to minimalist lifetime safe dose of radiation, possibly not effectively treatable. 

Here is a sampling of the different views of my lungs generated by the CT process. In all of them, you can orient to the…uh…orientation by observing the sharp, bright angles of the trach tube, which appears, like Waldo, in each image. Note in my browser you can double click the image and get a nifty enlargement. 

Note also what you do NOT see. You do not see lung “nodules”. The spots on my lung did not grow, they shrank. Making it preliminarily at least very unlikely that I have lung cancer! 

Yes, sports fans, I seem to be free of lung cancer!!! But of course life is tradeoffs. When Dr. H called (probably within minutes of receiving the CT output) he had to couple the good news with some bad. I have a pulmonary embolism. This means there’s blood clots in lung arteries, interfering with my breathing, causing me to generate bloody sputum when I cough, and risking quick death if the clots shift to critical places. Like my heart or even larger arteries.

Usually, pulmonary embolism is an emergency room issue. In this case, Dr. H phoned a blood thinner scrip to the pharmacy. It’s a self-injection system, plus I take a daily dose of rat poison (Warfarin’s primary use) orally. 

Medical technology. You got your massively high-tech 3-D diagnostic imaging sorting out my health problems. Then you got your treatment via leeches and rat poison. I’m feeling very 19th century at this point. 

But I am alive and I DO NOT HAVE LUNG CANCER. This opens up worlds of possibilities I have been dismissing. It may be that I can be stabilized, treated, and live more productive years than I’ve been anticipating. Now all depends on my palate tumor and the “lost” piece of material that shuffled off down my lymph vessels. 

Not sure what the next diagnostic steps are. But I gotta see Dr. H on Wednesday so he can drain the enormous pool of blood from my thigh (possible source of that clot in my lungs?). He’s also insisted I see Dr. T, my oncologist. It’ll be her job to sort out the embolism. Thursday I see Dr. K, hoping he can re-up key prescriptions like the morphine derivatives that help me so much. Although now that the embolism has been identified, I wonder if that’s not part of my pain/breathing syndrome. We’ll see. 

In any case, I’m just a few doses of rat poison away from another step to health. Or, as I like to think of it given my condition, “health”. 

Stay tuned, everyone. We have longer paths to walk to see how this story ends. My love, friendship, good wishes, and happiness to you all!