Nobody said this journey was easy...

Assalamualaikum wbt

I'd firstly like to say thank you very much to a lot of my concerned friends out there who have been eager to know the result of my PET Scan done on the 5th July 2009. The scan went well, alhamdulillah, although the technician initially struggled to put a cannula into my vein (which is understandable, semua my veins pun dah merajuk sebab dah 6 bulan kena torture kot!).

My CT scan back in March was promising but unfortunately it wasn't the case this time around. I've been told by my Consultant that the PET scan showed some hot spots in the mediastinum, lungs and left side of my neck.



Senang cerita, mediastinum ni region antara the two lungs, ie bahagian tengah.


Now let me try and simplify how a PET scan works. With a PET scan you first have an injection of a very small amount of a radioactive version of glucose. The radioactive glucose travels to places in your body where glucose is used for energy. Since cancer cells are more active and take up more glucose than normal cells do, they become intensely bright on the scan and this is where the term “hot spot” comes from.

A handy information about PET Scan for those interested.

The tricky bit about hot spots are that they can also be caused by things other than cancer, for instance infections like viral illness or Tuberculosis. Although my consultant feels that the hot spots found in my scan are quite likely active cancer cells, he doesn't want to jump immediately into second-line treatment (stronger chemotherapy and possibly bone marrow transplant) due to their long-term effects.

We therefore felt that a wait-and-see policy is probably the best approach at the moment. My consultant has also decided to arrange for another CT scan tomorrow morning which should hopefully be a helpful adjunct on top of the PET scan findings. Insya Allah.

Since management of my condition will take at least months of close monitoring, I have been recommended to remain in the country. Which has certainly thrown my Plan A into a bit of an uncertainty. [Plan A = To return home and start work in possibly Serdang/Putrajaya Hospital]. These last few days have been spent sorting out my FY1 (Foundation Year 1) job in Royal Preston Hospital, as I am due to report for my induction next Monday (ie 20th July 2009).

I must admit there are so many uncertainties running through my mind at the moment.

Not being sure how things might pan out in the future in regards to my condition.

If I do start working as a doctor in UK, how will it be affected if I am to have further treatment for my condition?

If my sponsor does insist on me returning home, will I be sure that there will be no glitch in transferring the management of my condition to the Malaysian hospitals? How will the treatment and healthcare be like back home?

Indeed, no one said this journey was gonna be easy.

Tapi kita kan ada Allah. Ya 'Azim. Ya Rahman. Ya Rahim.

There is nothing easy except what You make easy. And You make the difficult easy if it be Your will.

p/s: In myself, I couldn't have asked for more alhamdulillah. Feeling good, fitness gradually picking up, my hair looking long enough to even consider visiting the barber! =)