CT Scan

This scan also was quite painless. The only hard thing was to drink three cups of water two hours before scan then another cup just before scan. I was not required to hold that, but it was still a bit more than I usually drink all at once.  They had me remove any metal objects.  They positioned me on the scan bed. This involved a comfortable wedge type pillow under my head.  

Then they gave me a shot of some kind of dye solution for higher contrast of vessels. After a minute or so that solution gave me a kind of warm sensation especially in my lower body. The machine whined and click and made other noises and the bed moved a bit in and out of the donut shaped scanner  It told be to hold my breath for a few seconds and then it was over.

The cancer center called me about a week later and told me that the scan was negative for cancer (all good). I am thankful for that I now carry on with the ADT treatment. 

Neither the bone scan nor the CT scan found evidence of cancer so it is too small to see with those scans. There is a good chance with ADT and radiation that we can kill it.

ADT treatment starts with 30 days of  Bicalutamide which belongs to the group of medicines called antiandrogens. It works by blocking the effects of testosterone (a male hormone), which helps stop the growth and spread of cancer cells. After two weeks I get a shot of Leuprolide. Most types of prostate cancer need the male hormone testosterone to grow and spread. Leuprolide works by reducing the amount of testosterone that the body makes. I will get that shot every four month for 18 months. 

The plan is that those drugs slow down whatever cancer might be making my PSA go up and in August I do about 30 treatments of radiation. The plan is for that to kill whatever cancer might be lurking in my pelvis and I will be cured! Only time will tell. 

So time to get myself as healthy as possible so that I don't have too many bad side effects from the treatment. That involves eating right, taking certain vitamins and exercise with walking and some weight work. All that I have been doing, but now I have to work harder at it. 

I will have regular lab work to test PSA, Testosterone, Sugar A1C, and Cholesterol. The drugs should make my Testosterone and PSA go down and a side effect may increase sugar levels and Cholesterol. Those last two are good now and with diet and exercise they should stay that way (I hope).

I feel that there is some hope that this cancer can be beat. 

     Toshiba CT, picking a CT scanner, choosing a CT scanner, CT 101, what to look for in CT scanners, Aquilion ONE ViSION

JUST ONE OF ABOUT 600 IMAGES

Actual Finding with my interpretations in {}:

TECHNIQUE: 

    CT abdomen and pelvis With intravenous contrast. 

 FINDINGS:

    The patient is status post radical prostatectomy. Minimal thickening is seen with focus of calcification {the hardening of tissue or other material by the deposition of or conversion into calcium carbonate or some other insoluble calcium compounds.} identified anterior {toward the front of the body} to the right mesorectal fascia {a layer of connective tissue enclosing the fat that surrounds the rectum.} in the prostatectomy bed (301:133) could be postsurgical scarring. No other soft tissue seen in the pelvis.

Multiple surgical clips are seen in the pelvic sidewall. No recurrence in the pelvic sidewall. No retroperitoneal Iymphadenopathy {swelling of one or both kidneys.neal lymph nodes are located in a specific part of the abdominal cavity immediately behind the intestine that is closer to your backbone than your belly button. The swelling of the nodes themselves is referred to as lymphadenopathy .}, No hydronephrosis {swelling of one or both kidneys.}. Urinary bladder is unremarkable.

The large and small bowels are within normal limits. No focal liver lesions {a region in an organ or tissue which has suffered damage through injury or disease} identified. The gallbladder, spleen, adrenals, pancreas are unremarkable N0 ascites {abnormal buildup of fluid in the abdomen} or peritoneal {the membrane on the inside walls of the abdomen and pelvis} deposits.

Lung bases are clear. No acute or destructive bone bony lesions identified.

IMPRESSION:

Status post prostatectomy. Minimal nonspecific soft tissue thickening seen in the right prostatectomy bed could be scarring with a focus of coarse calcification seen in the region, This can be re-evaluated on follow-up imaging. No intra-abdominal {situated or occurring within the abdomen} metastases or adenopathy {swollen lymph nodes}.



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