Had my fourth muga scan today

Had my fourth muga scan today - and quite astonished to read now that I was injected with a small amount of radioactive isotope before the scan. I dunno, maybe I am losing it. I know it takes place in the nuclear medicine section of the hospital, that it says "radioactive:everywhere as in the toilet there, plus this is the fourth one I have had and have done lots of reading up about it - but did I forget? Or was I too concerned with the score?
Part of what can be detected from a muga is the rate at which the heart emits.
Prior to my treatment for breast cancer, I was sent for a muga to get a base reading.Cannot remember exactly what I scored but it was in the 70s. After chemo (and radiation???), it went to 65 and after herceptin, to 60. Today it was 62 and the doctor there said all was looking good. No dilation - but not sure what that means....
This is why one has a muga before and after breast cancer treatment
I am not certain if the 2 point difference means anything but am glad that it is moving up again.
The radiologist who did my mammogram and scan last week said if the damage was caused by the chemo, it is irreversible; if caused by herceptin, it will revert back to normal. So he said I should go up to 65, which was my score pre-herceptin but it didn't.
I see the oncologist next week so he will clarify matters.
Anyway, was not unhappy.
Learnt something about myself, well, The Yoga Man pointed it out and it's true. After a stressful situation, I eat. So my compulsive eating is post stress. Must have been hassled re the muga cos afterwards, ate and ate. First some Jerusalem dates (roasted dates, yummy) and then a frozen yoghurt and then a piece torn off from the gruyere cheese I bought to make a marrow and tomato gratin for dinner.
Well, what I really wanted to say is that I got chatting to a woman while waiting for the scan. She was there cos her husband was having a PET scan. He has prostrate cancer which has spread to the bones. Has had cancer for 11 years and is now on phase 3 of a trial, based in the US but tested in Switzerland, and sees the same oncologist as me. Also thinks he is fabulous! Part of the trial is that he has to have regular PET scans -- every three months. And although he looked pretty well to me, she said he was in hospital last week.
Impressed that we South Africans are eligible for such trials and that my oncologist is part of that. I know there is a research unit at the oncology centre and must say, I do know someone who went on a trial here with the same oncologist and is now very well.
Makes me wonder if anyone in South Africa was on the same trial Daria Maluta was on. Very possible. She died on January 22 from liver problems caused by the treatment which ironically did shrink her tumours. Opened Facebook and up popped the birthdays - it would have been her birthday today. Not 100% sure but think she would have turned 50. Or 49. And Facebook can be so sickening. Many of her "friends" have wished her "happy birthday - and many more", not knowing that she has died.

Daria ... one hell of a special lady

Daria Maluta has passed, writes her husband Don on her blog daria-livingwithcancer. She was one hell of a special lady who lived the last few years of her life with metastatic breast cancer. I never met her - she lived in Edmonton, Canada but I felt like I knew a part of her through her blog. Read it.

And read this blog  too, for just one example of what she meant to us out there.


And read this,  one of her earlier postings, which another blogger has posted in tribute to her.

The blogasphere is abuzz with tributes to Daria; she touched us all. I am reading them but too upset to say much more.

metastatic breast cancer

Metastatic breast cancer is cancer that has spread to far off sites in the body. It's what Daria of daria-livingwithcancer has and now she is moving to a hospice - the medical trial drug she was on shrunk her tumours but affected her liver and now she is dying...
Julie of fitnessforsurvivors has written an interesting post and has directed readers to an article in the New York Times this week which deals with metastatic breast cancer.
I like this quote at the end, made by Dr Suzanne Hebert, an optomotrist in Connecticut:
"Dr. Hebert says that while the pink-ribbon campaign has raised awareness about breast cancer, it masks a relentless killer.
“People like the pretty story with the happy ending,” she said. “We don’t have the happy ending.
“You always hear stories about women who ‘battled it’ and ‘how courageous’ they were. Cancer doesn’t care if you’re courageous. It’s an injustice to all of us who have this. There are women who are no less strong and no less determined to be here, and they’ll be dead in two years.”
Ja, I don't do the pink ribbon thing. Would feel most uncomfortable wearing on although I would not hesitate to wear a red ribbon for HIV/Aids. 
Do read Daria's blog if you want to inspiration on how to tackle adversities. She is too wonderful and I am going to miss her and her blog postings. Read the comments on the latest ones, in the last week or so, and you will see how she has touched so many people. Then read some of her earlier postings (I did, the other night) and you will see how her writing reveals an energy that she has not had for a long time, but the determination and resilience and practical approach has never left her. She is moving to a hospice within days...
And read Julie's most recent posting on pink ribbons and Daria and read the New York Times article on metastatic breast cancer.

Was asked to add this link: (9 September 2014)... (Also need to note that Daria died) 

 

I wanted to let you know about this great resource Healthline has about breast cancer. The resource includes a virtual tour on understanding the progression of breast cancer, from where it starts to how it affects the body. You can see the guide here: http://www.healthline.com/breast-cancer/anatomy-animations#1/breast-cancer-where-it-starts

www.healthline.com