Radioactive again...

Well, it's confirmed. I DO have a heart, despite Cam's prediction for my heart scan. They take a 'before' pic and then during chemo they take more scans so they can monitor what effect, if any, the chemo is having on my heart. Once again, I've been given a sticker that proves I've been injected with radioactive dye in case I want to cross the border in the next week. Apparently, radioactive things can make bombs so if you get scanned at the border and it beeps, you could be in serious trouble without the sticker. (I got one of these stickers when they injected my cancer boob with dye to follow the lymph node path)

In the next 2 weeks, I have six doctor appointments which will teach me all about chemo and having a port-a-cath and also some plastic surgeon appointments for my expander fill-ups and another pre-chemo appt with the oncologist. And of course, next Tuesday (right after Thanskgiving), I will be having my Port-a-Cath installed at Royal Columbian Hospital. MORE surgery - yay!!!! (and in case there was any doubt in anyone's mind - that's sarcasm...)

One thing is sure, with breast cancer you get over your needle phobias in a hurry.... you don't have a choice! I hate intravenous anything - going in or out. But I had to get two injections for the damned heart scan. The guy was gentle. Unlike the lab woman who took blood from me last week and left an enormous bruise on my arm.

And here's a hint for any of you who might need to visit a hospital this fall/winter - take your own reading material. Due to H1N1, there are NO magazines in the waiting rooms at the hospital. If you forget your own book, you get to wait around reading brochures on a gazillion scary sounding diseases and procedures...

So that's the latest... not nearly as fun and upbeat as the Run for the Cure or the Bird Sanctuary!!