On Friday, I finally got some good news from my oncologist. The results of the MRI scan that I had two days earlier came back early—it was supposed to take 10 days. The liver lesion that the doctors were concerned about being possibly cancerous is not cancer. Did anyone hear my big sigh of relief at about 12:15 p.m. Friday?

Unfortunately, in that same visit, I learned that my white cell blood counts from my pre-chemo blood tests taken that morning were “acceptably low,” despite the increased dosage of blood count booster I have had concurrent with my fifth round of chemo. I am also battling a third round of a Thrush mouth infection, which isn’t clearing because of low white blood cell counts.

To top it off, my chemo infusion intravenous port was giving the treatment nurses grief for the fourth time (it’s been blocked for 4 out of 6 blood tests) because it keeps getting blocked, thus causing problems for blood work and my chemo infusion.

The oncologist was non-committal on Friday, when we discussed my next and last round of chemo this week. He has asked me to return to the cancer treatment ward tomorrow for more blood tests to see if I can have my sixth and final chemo infusion on Tuesday. Intuitively, I think that the Thrush has to be cleared and they want my blood counts to be higher as Taxotere has had such dramatic side effects with me. It’s not looking good for knocking off the last treatment this week.

I suspect I will be delayed for a week given the problems I have had with Taxotere this past month. This is familiar—it happened to me with my first of chemo, delaying the next treatment by a week.


The Sensations of an MRI Scan

Prior to the scan, I was concerned that the metal pins in my back from scoliosis surgery 38 years ago might get dislodged or cause problems with the magnetic scanner. All was fine.

The body sensation of being in an MRI was not as scary as I thought. It’s actually kind of neat. It is nothing like any medical tests I have ever had before.

You are rigidly positioned and locked into place, so that your body stays motionless during the scans. Because of my anxiety about being held in a very small confined space, I was given a double folded washcloth to place over my eyes so that I could not see my surroundings.

The room is warm because of the power being used to operate the scanner.

There are different kinds of breathing involved with MRI scans. There are deep breaths, exhales, and holds. There are controlled and even breaths. Sometimes you hold your breath for a short while, other times it is longer. The breath holds were anywhere from about 25 seconds to slightly less than a minute.

Sometimes you breathe normally, as the magnet moves around your body taking “slices” of images of the area they are focusing on to get a proper diagnosis. Other times you have to stop breathing and stay absolutely still, so that the sensitivity of the magnet is not disrupted for specific scans.

The breath work was somewhat difficult for me, as the blood thinner medication and chemotherapy drugs can make me short of breath. I was exhausted, light-headed and dizzy when the half hour scan was over. The technician told me that this is not uncommon.


Beeps, Bangs, and Bloops: The Sounds of an MRI Scan

Regarding the experience of being scanned by the MRI, it is definitely an “auditory” event.

The MRI machine is loud. You are given industrial quality padded headphones to protect your hearing, and to listen to the technician giving you breathing cues that correspond to the kind of scan they are doing.

One enters the MRI scan room to a constant sound that is similar to that of an oversized loaded washing machine, coupled with a high-pitched bird chirping. This is the MRI’s motor running in the background at all times.

If you’ve ever had an MRI scan, you’ll identify with some of its unusual sounds. There are bleeps, bangs, and bloops sounds when you’re in the tunnel of the MRI machine.

The magnet’s scanning sounds are similar to ones you’d hear in base tracks of techno pop music. Others may say that it is like attending a new music concert where contemporary composers play with technology to create lyric-less sounds with music.

The low bass electronic sounds of the magnet generally move quickly and constantly, but they occasionally may be lower and slower. The sounds can be rhythmic, sporadic, or may be measured in beats as the magnet moves around your body to collect several images of the area being scanned.

Here is the basic sound that many of the MRI scans will have:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oI9YnhPNcQ

Different types of MRI scans produce different kinds of sounds. While in the scanner, I could hear how the sounds could be incorporated to make music. Someone has done this using the MRI’s bass sounds to form the music bed for this recording:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m4kFu2H0qQ

At one point during the scan, there was an image recording that was six minutes long. This scan had a stereo sound quality to it; I had a low beat in one earphone, while the other one was played in sequence with a lower loud bang. When that scan was over, I had a horrible headache from the constant banging. Another scan not only had shrilly and rapid sounds, it shook my lower body as it made what felt like a 360° scan of the area around my liver.

Near the end of the scan, a nurse comes in to inject a contrast die into an intravenous that was placed in your arm prior to the procedure. The dye leaves a bit of an after taste in your mouth. Upon entering your bloodstream, the dye initially is very cold and then makes you hot as it spreads throughout the area being scanned. As well, the dye can make some people quite nauseous after injection, which is why patients are told not to eat and drink for four hours before their test. I sailed through all of this with ease.

As I was leaving to go home, the nurse told me that my oncologist could look at the scans on their computer the next morning. I marveled at the wonders of technology in medical equipment and computers. She said that the radiologist’s assessment report would be available in 10 working days. My doctor had results within 36 hours. I don’t know this for sure, but perhaps cancer patient scan assessments are a higher priority due to the nature of their life-threatening illness.

My mind is very focused on getting through my final Taxotere treatment and moving on to the next chapter in my life in healing from chemo and preparing for radiation treatments. I am nervous and worried about the last treatment, but I will get through it with Strength, Courage, and Determination.