X-Rays
Today I am grateful for family time and our holiday celebration with our immediate family. I am also grateful for the A-Z gratitude list I did as I exercised this morning, and the story my friend Dorothy shared yesterday about her own A-Z gratitude list experience. (It may find it's way into another blog post.)
I knew there weren't many "x" words in the dictionary, but I was still surprised to find less than 75 filling less than two pages. My choices were limited, but X-rays was the obvious choice for me. X-rays have played more of a role in my life the last few years. I started with a baseline mammogram in my mid-30's before I got pregnant. Before I hit 40, breast cancer hit my sister. So at 39 I began my yearly mammograms, nervous each time. I was called back once in the next couple of years. That was scary, but most call-backs come out fine, and that was the case. At 42, I got the all-clear on my April mammogram, but my doctor and the radiologist suggested a MRI. By now, my second sister had been diagnosed with BC, and along with my dense breast tissue, they felt a different look would be a good idea.The MRI found my cancer, which was likely missed by at least a couple mammograms, though we'll never know for sure how long it was there before the MRI detected it. Thank God for that MRI though.
After my diagnosis, I moved on to more x-rays in the form of a PET/CT scan. It is the CT part that uses x-rays. That first one was nerve-wracking. It would show if any cancer had spread elsewhere in my body. It was a huge relief to get a good report back on that. I have since had 3 more PET/CT scans, including a follow-up one 3 months after one showed an enlarged lymph node (which there can be many causes of.) It was a bit unsettling, but again I got the all-clear. Then, I had a chest x-ray about a year ago that showed NED (no evidence of disease.) That was the protocol my oncologist suggested and at this point she isn't recommending any more imaging unless there's a reason. I hope no reasons surface.
X-rays come with risks. They detect cancer, but also cause it. They kill cancer via radiation, but that treatment can also cause cancer down the road. That's the tough part about cancer treatment--the various side effects that can be dangerous in their own right.
My breasts are gone, so no more mammograms for me. If I face another form of x-ray down the road, I hope it's for a broken bone, because if it's for another reason, I will be one nervous patient.
If you have faced diagnostic tests of any kind, you know what I mean. The waiting is the hardest part.X-rays and their use have gotten more safe and effective, but I hope other imaging techniques are advanced as well.
Switching grears now, enjoy the pre-holiday weekend and if you find yourself getting upset, pause and do an A-Z gratitude list. I bet you won't even get through the whole alphabet before a smile returns. I will be taking a blog break until Christmas Day. Have a good day, unless you've made other plans.
I knew there weren't many "x" words in the dictionary, but I was still surprised to find less than 75 filling less than two pages. My choices were limited, but X-rays was the obvious choice for me. X-rays have played more of a role in my life the last few years. I started with a baseline mammogram in my mid-30's before I got pregnant. Before I hit 40, breast cancer hit my sister. So at 39 I began my yearly mammograms, nervous each time. I was called back once in the next couple of years. That was scary, but most call-backs come out fine, and that was the case. At 42, I got the all-clear on my April mammogram, but my doctor and the radiologist suggested a MRI. By now, my second sister had been diagnosed with BC, and along with my dense breast tissue, they felt a different look would be a good idea.The MRI found my cancer, which was likely missed by at least a couple mammograms, though we'll never know for sure how long it was there before the MRI detected it. Thank God for that MRI though.
After my diagnosis, I moved on to more x-rays in the form of a PET/CT scan. It is the CT part that uses x-rays. That first one was nerve-wracking. It would show if any cancer had spread elsewhere in my body. It was a huge relief to get a good report back on that. I have since had 3 more PET/CT scans, including a follow-up one 3 months after one showed an enlarged lymph node (which there can be many causes of.) It was a bit unsettling, but again I got the all-clear. Then, I had a chest x-ray about a year ago that showed NED (no evidence of disease.) That was the protocol my oncologist suggested and at this point she isn't recommending any more imaging unless there's a reason. I hope no reasons surface.
X-rays come with risks. They detect cancer, but also cause it. They kill cancer via radiation, but that treatment can also cause cancer down the road. That's the tough part about cancer treatment--the various side effects that can be dangerous in their own right.
My breasts are gone, so no more mammograms for me. If I face another form of x-ray down the road, I hope it's for a broken bone, because if it's for another reason, I will be one nervous patient.
If you have faced diagnostic tests of any kind, you know what I mean. The waiting is the hardest part.X-rays and their use have gotten more safe and effective, but I hope other imaging techniques are advanced as well.
Switching grears now, enjoy the pre-holiday weekend and if you find yourself getting upset, pause and do an A-Z gratitude list. I bet you won't even get through the whole alphabet before a smile returns. I will be taking a blog break until Christmas Day. Have a good day, unless you've made other plans.
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