Another PET scan

We went to UCLA today for Susan’s DOPA PET scan so we can know more about the spot we’re watching on her right frontal lobe. She was injected with IV fluid, waited a few minutes for the stuff to get through her bloodstream, and went into the CT scanner for about a half-hour’s worth of pictures. The IV fluid was radioactive, so we won’t need to turn on the nightlight this evening. My wife has a lovely glow about her.

She had a DOPA PET scan about two years ago, and was fortunate to get on the machine this week – the first the first since it’s been operating again following a five-month repair. We’re so glad to have this technology available as a way to get a diagnosis without a surgical biopsy. 

As I filled out her intake form for the folks in the nuclear medicine department, I had to refer back to Susan’s health history page I created when I could no longer reliably recall all of the procedures she’s had in recent years. To abbreviate, she’s had breast cancer, brain cancer, twelve surgeries, four other hospital stays, seven admissions through ER, radiation therapy and three rounds of chemotherapy. It’s kind of a stunning list and would be hard to believe if I hadn’t been with her to experience it. But what’s even more amazing is the peace God has given us along the way and the peace that rests with us in our circumstances. It's a full-time, no-matter-what peace. A life-giving peace. While we haven’t been able to control cancer, cancer hasn’t been able to control us, crush us, or defeat us. The supreme, supernatural victory God gives us means it never will. That’s why we’re grateful.