PET scan

By 10 am yesterday, I was in the always crowded Outpatient Imaging Center waiting room waiting to become radioactive.

This was my fourth PET scan, so it's become rather ordinary. A patient care specialist -- read 'health insurance narc' -- registers me for the fourth time, copies my insurance card and drivers license for the fourth time, and has me sign four different documents for the fourth time, promising to consent to become radioactive, pay for this privilege or surrender my first born, affirm that all my billing and contact information is correct, and give up the name and phone number of my closest relative they can harass if I don't pay my bill and flee the state with my aforementioned first born.

A few minutes back in the now standing-room-only waiting room, and I'm called back by a radiology tech to get the real business underway.

By the way, this was my look for yesterday. I was aiming for something a little above yoga casual.


Here's my black cloche hat with my grandmother Mammy's brooch. 

The tech puts in an IV line in my right hand, draws a little blood to check my glucose level. I've been fasting since midnight, and if my glucose is too high, I can't have the PET scan done. My level is fine.

Then, the tech exits the room and returns with a heavy lead box containing my radioactive glucose injection. Preventing radiation exposure to the employees is important, hence the lead box.  For me, ah, no problem.  I'm only zapped every couple of months.  But, the tech always advises me to drink plenty of water the rest of the day and stay away from children until eight hours after injection. At my first PET scan, that kinda freaked me out.

After injection, the tech again leaves me to my own devices, for one hour this time, while the solution circulates my body, hopefully finding no cancer cells to cling to.

At the end of the hour, I'm escorted into a room with the PET scanner.  I lie down on the shoot that will send me into the large circular imaging machine...yes, just like you've seen on tv. 

The whole thing takes about 15 minutes, then my radioactive self is released onto the unsuspecting public.

Now, we wait.