Upcoming PET scan

I’ve had a nice break from doctor visits, tests and procedures.  I’ve rather enjoyed it, but next week I will be back in the hot seat again. I will be having a follow-up PET scan on Tues, Feb 4^th. I have not found any new lumps, and I’m not overly concerned. This test is just to make sure that there are no surprises. Of course even standard follow-up tests bring with them a certain amount of nervousness, so if you think of me please pray. Pray that I will get clean results and that I will be able to rest in the Lord during the week I will have to wait for my results.

 Luckily PET scans aren’t a huge deal. They are not cheap but at least for me I think they are easier to do than an MRI. The goal of the PET scan is to find any cancer that is throughout your body. The test is used when a doctor is concerned with distant recurrences of cancer. What that means is that the cancer has spread from its original site. Since I had a local recurrence last year, this caused the doctors to be more concerned about distant recurrences. I believe that it is a standard test to do after you have had any recurrence. This will be my second and hopefully last PET scan.

This February marks the third February that I have been dealing with cancer. The last two times the calendar said “February” I have found a lump. The last two Marchs I have been diagnosed with cancer. So you can understand my growing weariness of this time of year. I would so like to break this pattern this year! And I’m hoping that this PET scan will do this. If it comes back clean, then I should be able to rest a little easier the rest of the month!

Of course this test is just that – a test. It is nothing more. The One I really put my hope and trust in is God. It is so easy to put a lot of weight on a certain test or diagnosis. To think that this test is the one that means that I am totally free of cancer and don’t have to worry. Or to be cancer free this many years means that I’m home free. But that is not the way cancer always works. It doesn’t always follow the rules that we make for it. And we are not really doing ourselves any favors anyway if we put too much weight on these human things. God is the one in control. He is where my hope should solely lie. And every time I start to get nervous about a test I just remind myself of that. I may not know what the future holds but I can trust the One who does!