N for News Good and Bad

On Thursday, 15^th January I was due to have a PET scan to see if the first four rounds of chemo had destroyed the lymphoma.  John dropped me off at Wollongong Hospital and I found my way to Lumus Imaging on Level 1.  I was asked to strip to underwear and given a purple paper gown to wear which was open down the back.  I’m always wary of cannulas as my veins are small and hard to find but the nurse placed it first go with no pain.  I told her she could do it every time and asked could I keep her for future scans.

The next hour was spent reclining under a warm blanket while first saline and then radioactive sugar solution was infused.  I then had to lie still for an hour and regretted not being able to access my headphones and audio book. Still, I was warm and comfortable.  I was then taken into a radioactive room where I lay with my knees and head supported by a pillow.  The scan seemed to go on forever and must have taken 40 minutes.

The following Tuesday I felt quite confident as I had viewed the scans online and there didn’t seem to be any areas glowing red or orange. The haematologist seemed preoccupied and after asking how I was going announced all the markers for lymphoma had disappeared. However, he had a new area of concern, the fatty areas of the abdomen. He pushed down on my tummy and asked if it hurt, which it did because he pushed hard.  As he didn’t have the original scan from the private hospital he needed to access it to compare with the more recent one.  There seemed to be unusual activity in the fat of the abdomen which could be caused by the chemo but could be new lymphoma. He would ring me later this afternoon.

We were ushered out the door and I didn’t even have time to ask any questions.  Of course I checked out AI when I got home and it made me feel a bit better.

Most Likely Cause: Post-Treatment Inflammation

Treatment Side effects:  Chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or radiation can cause temporary inflammation of fatty tissues (sometimes referred to as panniculitis)

There was some good news that day.  The Travel Insurance Company reimbursed us for the money we lost when cancelling our holiday.  We also went out for dinner at an Italian Restaurant which was special because it was our first meal out since chemo started.

The next day the haematologist rang to say there was no inflammation of the fatty tissue of the first scan so it may have been caused by the chemo.  The next PET scan will be four weeks after chemo has finished so hopefully any effects from chemo will have disappeared.

Fast forward to Tuesday 31^st March, 2026.

Another PET scan but this time a different nurse had two goes at inserting the cannula, first the right arm and then the left.  It really hurt both times going in.  After the PET scan I stayed on the bed while iodine was inserted in the cannula for the CT scan.  It makes you feel like you have peed yourself when you really haven’t. At least the CT scan was not too long and I was shivering and keen to get out of there by the end.  All I could think about was going home to my sunny kitchen and eating weet-bix, yoghurt and fruit.

Lumus Imaging inside Wollongong Public Hospital

Thursday, 2^nd April, the day before my 75^th birthday, the news was not as good as I’d hoped.  The glow in the fatty areas in my abdomen had grown larger but the haematologist thinks it is harmless. It is probably “fat necrosis” which is fat tissue which has died from lack of blood supply caused by the chemotherapy. As a friend of mine said, “surely dead fat is good!”

Just because there is a remote possibility it could be new lymohoma I have to have another visit to hospital, this time for a laparoscopy.  I have an appointment with a laparascopic surgeon on the 9^th April at 1.15 pm so will see what transpires. Unfortunately that is my husband’s birthday so it looks like dinner out, not lunch. Unless they decide to whack me into hospital there and then. Deja Vu!!!