Radioactive Injections

The day before my surgery I had to go to Nuclear Medicine to get 3 radioactive injections. I'm a little disappointed I didn't develop any superhero powers. The radioactive injections are typically a blue dye injected near the tumor to locate sentinel lymph node.

My doctor gave me the option to have my boob numbed by 3 injections of anesthesia first or just the 3 radioactive injections. 6 shots versus 3 shots. I hate needles and since the needles were the same size, I went with 3 stabbings instead of 6 to speed things up. Since I'd survived the ultrasound core needle biopsy and stereotactic breast biopsy, I figured how bad could it be.

He told me they progressively get worse. The first injection barely hurt and was followed by a little burning sensation. I said "Oh that wasn't bad at all". Then the second shot, "that definitely hurts more than the first" to which he replied slowly in a kind voice "yeeeaaaah". Then the third shot, "oh crap that burns!" and he replied "I told you it would get worse" in a sympathetic voice (he was pretty calming through it all). After the 3rd shot I regretted not getting the anesthesia. If I had to do it over again, I'd have asked to numb the area for the 3rd shot as that was by far the worst.

The radioactive fluid was injected around my tumor so my surgeon could follow it to determine where it drained. If the cancer cells had developed the ability to spread to other parts of the body they would go to those lymph nodes first. Tomorrow my surgeon will identify and remove those nearby lymph nodes and then test if cancer cells are present. More info on sentinel node biopsy here.

The whole time I was there I had the song "Radioactive" stuck in my head.

"Radioactive" by Pentatonix and Lindsey Stirling (Imagine Dragons cover)

Whoa, oh, oh
Whoa, oh, oh
Whoa, oh, oh
Whoa
I'm waking up to ash and dust
I wipe my brow and I sweat my rust
I'm breathing in the chemicals

I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus
This is it, the apocalypse
Whoa

I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones
Enough to make my systems blow
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I'm radioactive, radioactive
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I'm radioactive, radioactive

I raise my flags, don my clothes
It's a revolution, I suppose
We're painted red to fit right in
Whoa

I'm breaking in, shaping up, then checking out on the prison bus
This is it, the apocalypse
Whoa

I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones
Enough to make my systems blow
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I'm radioactive, radioactive
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I'm radioactive, radioactive

All systems go, the sun hasn't died
Deep in my bones, straight from inside

I'm waking up, I feel it in my bones
Enough to make my systems blow
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Welcome to the new age, to the new age
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I'm radioactive, radioactive
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, whoa, oh, oh, oh, I'm radioactive, radioactive

2/3/16