Third Round of Scans!

Today Kolby went in for her third round of scans. In this picture Kolby is being injected with a radioactive tracer. The radiopharmaceutical injected into Kolby for her PET scan is called FDG, which stands for “fluoro-deoxy-glucose”. This is a very low concentrated solution of glucose in water. The glucose, or sugar molecules, have a radioactive isotope of fluorine attached to them which allows the scanner to “see” where the sugar is being used (metabolized) in your body. It came in a special lead container and Kolby asked why it was in there. He explained to her how dangerous radiation is to the skin and it is a way to protect us. We both looked at each other in amazement, and commented on how it was going into her veins. Crazy!!! They inject the radioactive isotope into her veins before her PET scan, and this makes all the "hot spots" (cancer cells) light up so they can measure the progress of the chemo. In the other picture Kolby has to drink this nasty contrasting dye material drink before her CAT scan. She does not like drinking this stuff. She wanted her dad to come so he could pep talk her through the whole thing.

In these pictures Kolby is waiting and prepping for her CT scan. CT scanning combines special x-ray equipment with sophisticated computers to produce multiple images or pictures of the inside of the body. These cross-sectional images of the area being studied can then be examined on a computer monitor. For people with cancer, a CT scan can help determine how much the cancer has spread. By the time Kolby was called back to have her 2nd scan we had been at the hospital for 5 hours. She was not a happy camper. Overall, Kolby is feeling good today. A little tired, but good. She is in a good mood and we love it!