Scanning The Horizon - The CT Scan

On July 3rd I was given a computed tomography (CT) scan at Valley Imaging in Athens, AL.

The previous week I had picked up my chest x-rays and scheduled an appointment for the folks at another doctor's office to take a look at them. As soon as I had picked up the x-rays and looked at them for myself I was glad I had decided to get another opinion. Even I could clearly see the a mass or spot on the left side of my chest near my left lung. It looked like it was near my heart to me. My first thought was "why did this have to go to Birmingham for someone to see it?" I'm certainly not a doctor, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn once. The spot, the thing that they are calling a 'nodule' was very evident to me.

When I delivered the x-rays to my new doctor they looked them over and gave me a little more information. I was told there could be a couple of possibilities to consider. The good possibility was the nodule might be a result of old damage caused by a prolonged case of untreated pneumonia. Maybe an area of scar tissue my body was trying to seal off by encapsulating it in calcium. On the other hand, the nodule looked round (wrong shape) and it is on the side of my lung (wrong place) and that brings up the possibility of cancer.

The doc's personal on the spot opinion was that he thought the spot was old damage. The only way to be more certain was to get a CT scan. And the very first thing for me to do was get a complete blood test and let the lab look at my blood cell counts.

The doctor also said the pain in my chest (still there since May) might not be connected at all with the nodule issue. He said it could be, but may also be coming from another infection. He checked me over pretty thoroughly and I was diagnosed with pleurisy. I headed to the lab for blood tests with a pocket full of prescriptions for an aggressive attack on infection including antibiotics, pain killers and a steroid pack. The CT scan would be scheduled immediately, or near the end of the following week, depending on my blood test results.

I left the doctor's office with pain in my chest; nodule on side of my left lung, no blood test results, a pocket full of prescriptions, and the wonderful thought that I may have cancer to keep me in good spirits the whole week leading up to my CT scan.

The first news came from the doc's office about my blood test results. All looked good. I felt better hearing that. My CT was set up for July 3rd.

I arrived at Valley Imaging on Thursday morning July 3rd for the CT. Just walking in the place you don't really get the idea there's much going on there. It is a small office with a small waiting room. I'd done a little research on the procedure and knew what to expect. I really liked the technician who administered the scan. She was very kind; explained everything clearly and really tried to make me feel comfortable with the process. She said I'd feel like I was wetting on myself when she injected the iodine dye into the vein in my arm (helps the machine see my organs and blood flow). I did. I even looked down to see if I had. But she was right it was only a feeling. The scan was specific to my chest area. The whole process took less than fifteen minutes. The technician was kind in allowing my wife to take the picture during the scan for this post. I liked the folks at Valley imaging and recommend them if you are ever in need of the type service they provide. They're equipment is state of the art as far as I've been able to determine. Nice folks!

The CT scan is painless except for the very minor discomfort of the needle stick when the contrast dye is injected. The machine at Valley is very open and there was no claustrophobic feeling (at least for me) when I entered it. The room is bright. I just closed my eyes and thought positive about the results the whole process would bring.

It's the thoughts about the possible results of things like CT scans and MRIs and x-rays that make them uncomfortable. Your attitude going in really makes a big difference in how the process goes. I decided that I was ready for the outcome whatever it was. I had already spent much time praying for good results, thanking God for all the blessings he has given me up to this point and preparing my mind for what the next days would bring.

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