8/2/2019 PET Scan Results

Over a month of trying to get Todd’s PET scan rescheduled and being denied by insurance, it was finally approved Thursday afternoon. We received a call from the radiology office that there was an opening for Friday morning @ 7:30, just enough time to follow the diet for the night…which by the way is meat, eggs, cheese, and nuts. which basically left Todd with nuts and water. For me my scanxiety set in and as much I just tried to keep those positive thoughts, my mind started to go towards negative ones of the what if’s?! However, I actually slept petty good with the help of Copaiba and Serenity essential oils (my go-to night time oils).

The PET scan process takes about 2 hours, once you get injected with radiated sugar you have to sit and “relax” for about 45 minutes. Then the scan takes another 35 minutes in the machine and you have to be completely still. After that, the waiting game to find out the results starts. In the past, it usually takes a few days and in our case sometimes longer to get the results. We had a potential appointment with Todd’s doctor for Monday in hopes that we would have the results back by then. We are used to anxiously waiting but doesn’t ever make that part any easier, no matter how much you prepare.

To my surprise, I had a missed call from the doctor this afternoon and the message said that she already had the results from Todd’s scan. Of course, I’m at work and Todd was home, but we had to call right then! We did a three-way call and she gave us the news…She started by explaining that the left axillary has significant worsening in 3 lymph nodes! Ok, seriously this might sound like bad news at first but the last PET scan was done in October 2018 and there were 4 new lymph nodes. Now there is 3, I don’t know where the 4th one went and I don’t care. Now, yes, the tumors have grown and that’s not the best news, but we know that they are there because you can physically see and fell them. In perspective the size is still relatively small, the biggest is ill-defined measuring approximately 5.2 x 3.3 cm, which makes sense because we can feel the change in the shape and hardness of the larger lymph node.

Some other noted findings are, his sinuses have significantly improved both the maxillary and ethmoid sinuses. Ever since Todd got sick last June, he has had sinus issues and does rinses daily to try and get those cleared out. There was previously mentioned nodules on his left lung that have remained stable since January of 2018, and are likely benign, but too small to evaluate on a PET scan. Here is the best part of the report: NO OTHER AREAS OF METASTATIC DISEASE ARE IDENTIFIED.

Overall, we think this is pretty good news! We could choose to harp on the negative part, but why, when there is so much more to be happy about. The results could have been a lot worse than this, but they are not! So to us, it just signifies that what Todd is doing is working to some extent. To me, it means that we have to keep pushing to do what he feels is right. Keep listening to our hearts and follow the path it is leading us down. We thank every single person that has donated, shared, and given their positive thoughts and prayers to our family. Please continue to share our story, we are set to be on our way to CHIPSA hospital in two weeks and still need your help to get there, even if you can give a dollar, it is one step closer for us! Lot’s of love to you all!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/todds-stage-4-cancer-journey&rcid=r01-156483598765-15e2d2d08e324196&pc=ot_co_campmgmt_w