April, 2026
A few days after my visit to the dressings clinic, I receive a phone call from the Oxford Community Diagnostic Centre team asking if I would be available the next day for my CT scan at the Oxford Community Diagnostic Centre which would check my body to see if the cancer had spread beyond my armpit. As I was super eager to get the scan done/get the results ASAP I said yes. So the next day, Lisa and I head to the building where the CT scan is done. Prior to the scan I am asked to fill in a short questionnaire regarding my health etc. So I fill the form in and then I am called for the scan. To my surprise the scan is not in the building, it’s on a trailer behind the building!
When I get into the trailer, it’s explained what will happen and I’m injected with a dye that the scanner will use during the scan. I’m then laid onto the bed and moved into the scanner. All in all, I think the scan itself took about 12 minutes but I wasn’t inside the scanner the whole time. I’d be regularly moved in and out of the machine. When it was time to scan, an icon on the top of the scanner would appear and I’d then be asked to hold my breath for a few seconds. A 2nd icon would then light up to signify that the scan was over and I’d then be moved out of the scanner. This happened quite a few times during the 12 minutes or so. Once the last scan had been completed I was told that the results should be ready within 1-2 weeks and I was told I could go home home.
Roughly a week after my CT scan, I then receive another call. This time from the Nuffield Hospital in Oxford inviting me to come in for my MRI scan the next day. So again I say yes, and Lisa and I head over the next day. As with the CT scan the previous week, the scan is carried out in the carpark in a pretty nifty truck trailer!
As with the CT scan, I had to fill in a questionnaire and the rest of the process was also fairly similar i.e. it is explained to me what will happen and I’m told that I will be injected with a dye. However one difference this time is that the scan will be carried out and the dye will be injected into me towards the end of the scan.
As with the previous scan, I am asked to lay on a bed and I’m given ear plugs as I am told the scan is super noisy and I am also offered headphones to listen to some music whilst the scan proceeds. Later I realise that they are right that the scan is noisy and I can hardly hear what’s playing on the radio! Before I am put into the scanner, a strange looking frame is put on my head which includes some mirrors so I can see my feet and the door to the scanning room. I must say that the scan was quite uncomfortable as you dont know how long has progressed/how long is left, and I was starting to cramp up as I was asked not to move during the scan as that could impact the results of the scan. Sometime later, the assistant walks back into the scanning room and injects the dye and tells me that the scan will only last another 8 minutes – up to that point, I genuinely have no idea how long the first part of the scan took! Anyhow I manage to keep myself still and see out the remaining 8 minutes. As with the CT scan, I am told that my results should be ready within 1-2 weeks and that I am now ok to go home. Queue now a nervous wait for the results of my CT and MRI scans….
I know I have said it before but I cannot praise the NHS enough because within 2 weeks of me getting told I need scans, both of them have been completed.
Now I must admit even though I was trying my best to stay positive through all of this, I can’t say that this was always the case. There certainly were times were I was dreading the results would come back with confirmation that the cancer had spread and I even had concerns that it could be fatal. Having those thoughts in your mind are really dangerous so I really did my best to focus on the positives as I always had. So I kept telling myself that if there is more cancer, the doctors and specialists will be able to find it and treat it, as they had done previously. But that is easier said than done when you are waiting for probably the most important results of my life.
Then, 2 weeks after my CT scan I was emailed by Cathy, one of the Skin Cancer Nurses at the Churchill. I have spoken to her a few times previously and she is always great. The email was only quick but kindly asked how I was. So I replied that physically I was fine, but mentally was a completely different story with all the worry and thoughts going through my mind whilst waiting for the scan CT and MRI results. Cathy replied back to say she’d have a check to see what is happening with the results.
Then next day, which happened to be our 3rd wedding anniversary, at round 8.30am I get a call from the always cheery Cathy. Nervously I say hello and she just blurts it out “Your CT and MRI test results are all clear!”. I can’t believe what I am hearing. After all those weeks worrying, it was like loads of bags of cement had suddenly lifted from my shoulders. I am so happy and I cant say thanks enough to Cathy – especially on our anniversary. It was definitely the best present ever!
The next day I am asked to go back to the Churchill. Initially the aim was to give me my test results and also talk about next steps. But since I already knew the results, we only needed to cover next steps. I meet Eleanor who is a registrar at the Cancer and Haematology ward at the Churchill. I’m told that there are 2 options available to me. I can either have immunotherapy treatment spanning a year (1 treatment every 6 weeks – 9 in total) and have regular check ups/scans. Or I can forego the immunotherapy treatment and have the regularly check ups/scans. She does point out that the treatment may not be necessary if indeed there is no cancer left in me, and could cause some side effects. But she also points out that if there is any cancer still within me that wasn’t spotted in the scans, having the treatment could help to prolong my life. I’m also told that I am now categorised as stage 3B.
I am told that I dont need to make a decision right away, although Lisa and I both felt there and then that having the treatment would be worthwhile if it helps me to stay healthy. If I do want the treatment, I just need to have the first dose within 3 months of my op which could either be via a drip or via tablets. My preference would be tablets but whether I can go with this option depends on something called the BRAF gene. So the hospital need to verify if I have this gene or not before I can go ahead with the treatment. So now I wait for those results but I can say with 100% assurance, it is not a nervous wait anymore!
Proud of my Scar 
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