In this image you can see a scan of my torso from the back, on the left and the front, on the right. In the left hand image, right in the middle of the chest there is a dark spot. That is the tumour on my T8 vertebra showing as a “hotspot” in this bone scan. In the right hand image, between the two wings of my pelvis, you can see another smaller dark spot, which is the anomaly on the L5 vertebra, which may or may not be a tumour. It is the T8 tumour that underlies all of the back pain I have been experiencing over the last two weeks.
How do we know that it’s a tumour on the spine? We have pictures from a second CT scan.
This is a picture showing my T7 vertebra. It’s white and kidney-shaped at the bottom of the image. Notice that it is bright only around the edge of the structure, and almost uniformly dark inside it. Now here is a picture showing the T8 vertebra.
This time, you can see that there is an extra bright line inside the structure. The consultant says that this is the sclerosis marking the retreat of the tumour and the healing of the bone. That tumour is the one that we think has been pressing on my nerves, causing my all that pain.
You might also be curious about the bright circle just left of centre. That is the biliary stent that was fitted in early January. It’s metal and shows up particularly well, I think.
Well, that’s it. Just a short post today to show how we know some of what is happening to me. Just think, without all this technology, I may well have had the surgery to excise the tumour from my stomach and oesophagus, only to find that the tumour had metastasized, and that the surgery would make no difference to the eventual outcome, except that it would have given me substantially more discomfort. Thank heavens for modern technology!
{ 4 } Comments
Thank you for sharing the images and explanations, Chris. They are most interesting. As you say, this is one of the instances where modern technology of great advantage. When you think of how far we have progressed in the last 30 years, it is quite extraordinary. I hope the back pain is not becoming any worse.
Veronica, the back pain is improving, and the NSAIDs are immensely helpful. The hospital bed is good, too. And I should be out soon, feeling much better than when I went in.
I know i keep saying that all these images are amazing, but they are! Its all very clever to be able to pick out your tumour site so clearly. Hope the back pain is under control now.
Jayne, yes I agree the consultant is extremely clever to be able to pick out the tumour, and it was fascinating to see it for myself, and really understand why they came to the conclusions they did.