I thought that I had posted the results of my PET scan, but maybe I didn’t. A PET scan offers a detailed look at the entire body, and through the use of a radioactive glucose (tumors love glucose), it is a good way to detect even tiny tumors anywhere in the body.

The results of my PET scan were that the rest of my body is CLEAR of metastases (secondary tumors). This is VERY good news, and my radiation oncologist - no Pollyana - concurs.

If any cells are trying to break away from the primary tumor and spread through my body, this is a bad time for those cells, because they are highly vulnerable to the chemotherapy.

One cool side effect of one of the chemicals I’ve been given, known around the cancer center as “5-FU,” is that it is clearing up the pre-cancerous growths on my skin that have been appearing for years as a result of spending my first 16 years getting my skin burned in Arizona.  I had some patches on my face and hands that I was planning to get burned or cut off on my next dermatologist visit, but they are literally disappearing.