Matt's Cancer

CT Scan & MRI Scan

Page 5

I had a CT scan on the 11th June 2020, Mum & Dad took me, I didn’t really know what to expect, as I’ve never had one before. The CT scan didn’t take long, I just had to lay down, while this bed slid in and out of this donut shaped machine. This scan only seemed to take about 15 minutes, 20 the most. They injected me with a contrast dye, so they could see the scan clearly.
This is a bit like an x-ray machine, where the staff can’t be in the same room while the machine is operating, as they are doing this all day and would be exposed to high levels of radiation.
There was really nothing to this scan.

I then had a MRI scan on 15th June 2020, as I felt more confident about this, I decided to take myself. I knew this would be very much like the CT scan, but with a different machine. The letter came in the post, it stated I should not eat or drink 3 hours before the scan. My wife came with me to the hospital. A few minutes into the scan, they stopped the machine, told me my bladder was empty, they could not continue, but they did give me a choice, I could rebook for another day, which I really didn’t want to do, as I didn’t want to delay anything, the other choice, they said I could drink a litre of water, then come back. So I went with that option.
I drank a whole litre of water, then went back. They weren't ready for me, so I had to wait. After waiting, I needed the loo. I told the ladies at reception, who told me I should just hold it, as I needed to have a full bladder. So I waited longer, then I just told the receptionist I’m going to the loo before I had an embarrassing accident. When I came back, I asked if they could fill my bottle with more water, which they did. I drank another litre of water, then they called me in.
Like before I lay on the bed, attached to the machine, I needed the loo again, but decided I’d wait, as my bladder needed to be full. They put headphones on me, I thought they were going to play some music, this was a noisy machine, they gave me a panic button just in case.
The scan started, this scan took longer than the CT scan, this was more like 45 minutes. They injected me with a drug that relaxed my bladder muscles, which really wasn’t helping, as by now I’m busting for a wee. A few minutes later, I squeeze the panic button, they stop the machine and check to see if I’m ok, I tell them I’m sorry but I really need to go to the loo, they let me go, I come back and they finish the scan. I found out I only had 5 minutes left for the scan, but I don’t think I would have lasted without having an accident.
If I hadn’t drank so much water at once and knew to have a drink before the scan, I would have been more comfortable, this would have saved all embarrassment.
Apart from that, the MRI scan was fine, just a noisy machine, nothing to worry about.