April 13 2016 - Second PET Scan results

09:00
A slow morning. Nothing planned till my Oncologist appointment at 14:15.

I have looked closely at the PET scan pictures, and it all looks clean from a tumor point of view. Of course, I don't know anything about the subtleties of reading a PET scan.
The area of my stump end shows as bright yellow, which is indicative of inflammation and excessive blood flow, but I would expect that. I'll see what the Oncologist says.

15:30
We are back home from the Oncologist. She says I appear free of any active malignancy.

The conclusions on the reports say:
"There is no scintigraphic evidence of residual metabolically active malignancy on these images."
"No hypermetabolic activity in keeping with an active malignant process."
"No signs of local recurrence or distant metastases."

With respect to the possible damage from the chemo treatments:
"Bone marrow uptake appears fairly homogeneous throughout with no focal FDG avid lesions visualized."

So all is good news. Next time with the Oncologist will be in 3 months when I have another blood test, and see her again.

Here are some of the latest PET pictures. (The previous PET scan pictures can be seen on my Day 40 blog.)

You can see here the inflammation (shown by the yellow) on the end of the stump bone from wearing the prosthetic leg.




















Here is a picture of the legs showing no bad areas except end of the stump, and the ankle area of my right leg. This is caused by the Cymbalta causing cracked, dry skin, and swelling to my extremities.

This picture is cool because it shows the area in my mouth where I bit my tongue that morning. The PET scan interpreter said that the slight increased blood flow to both shoulders was probably caused by the use of crutches that day.
And for all my "friends"...I now have proof that my heart and brain are normal.
Maddie says it shows the absence of a brain, but then she ALSO doesn't know anything about the subtleties of reading a PET scan.

In this one you can see the missing lumbar disc between L4 and L5, and the skinny disc between L5 and L6. Also note the lack of yellow dots indicating tumors.

Because the radioactive chemical is absorbed by the brain, heart, and bladder wall, PET scans are seldom used to diagnose in those areas.
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Maddie's car got a bump (not her fault) and the bodyshop/panel beaters did not reconnect the hoses properly, so the engine overheated. The insurance has now said that the car is totaled, and will payout cash.
Now we are once again again car shopping.
Maddie has fallen in love with a 2006 Mercedes A170. The dealer is bringing it by tomorrow morning so she can drive it all around the neighborhood.
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