Week 32-33 Thursday 12th November

Hello friends!

It's been an eventful couple of weeks for all of us.  England went into its second lockdown, "Lockdown 2", on Thursday 5th, I also had a phone call to book myself in for the PET-CT scan.  The earliest appointment they had was on Wednesday 11th for 8am.  I thought that slot was perfect, as I'll just wake up, rock up to the scan and by the time it was done, I'd be ready for breakfast.  Remembering I had to have only water for 6 hours before the scan, I was happy.  However, it would mean I'd have to wait at least a week for the results.

A couple of hours later, they called me back, saying they had a slot available on Saturday 7th at 5pm.  The lady who called me earlier, must've noted how happy I was for the call, and I had told her I was waiting for the call and wanted the results of the scan. When she called back, I jumped at the chance, as I would stand more chance of getting the results sooner.  I rocked up at 4:30pm as they had asked if I could come a bit earlier, and they'd get the paperwork done, then I'll be ready to go at 5pm.

For those that aren't aware, this is a CT scan, but with a radioactive tracer injected, which flows around the body and highlights any cancerous cells for the scan to pick up.  The tracer has a very short life, and is made in small batches and delivered to the medical unit. The longer they're left, the less effective they are. The scan itself was pretty quick, about 25 minutes for the section they were scanning, but you have to wait an hour for the tracer to go around your body.  As I wasn't injected until after 5pm, I was there for just over 2 hours.  The nurse also informed me that the results should get back to the referrer on Wednesday.  I didn't want to get my hopes up, but potentially if that was the case, I would get my results after MDT on Thursday 12th November.

The results were back in time, went to MDT and I got the call this morning.  The specialist nurse, Maria, who was with me when my gynecologist broke the news about having cancer back in April, was pleased to say that I responded really well to treatment, and there's hardly anything showing on the scan.  Treatment was successful! YES! The cancer has been treated. Achievement unlocked : Final Boss defeated!

They can't tell me it's all gone, just in case there is something really small that wasn't pick up during the scan.  However, that's why I still have 3 monthly check ups (the next is in January), and I don't need to have another MRI scan until October (unless there's something we're concerned about). 

Will I finally celebrate?  I've got a catch up planned with some really good friends tonight over the internet waves!  I'm also still going ahead with my marathon charity stream, which starts at 8pm this Saturday.  You don't need to watch (but you'll be able to from Twitch or my justgiving page), but if you're financially able to donate (Never spend a penny you can't afford), I'm raising money for more chairs for the Day Unit, where I had my chemo treatment through my hospitals official charity, Love Musgrove. 

I've set myself an ambitious target of £2020, but if you've followed my journey from week one, you'll know how brutal my treatment was.  The more people that can get treated sooner, the better their outcome and less stress and anxiety they'll face because of it.  The longer the wait, potentially the harder the treatment will be.  

Let's show 2020 there can be positives, and hope through this tragic year. Love and virtual hugs to you all, and hopefully see you all... some day!

As always, stay well, stay safe and look after each other x x

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