Chest Scan Time

So this evening I went to hospital for an x-ray ray. The reason - I have had a persistent cough for at least two months now and this is an early symptom of lung or oesophageal cancer. Yep, when I said this blog would be full of all sorts of stuff, I meant it.

There has even been a public awareness campaign recently in the UK about it. In fact,I was sitting at some traffic lights, just thinking about how this stupid cough had dragged on for weeks and weeks when I saw one of the adverts.

I have had a check up with the GP, who thinks I am fine, but referred me for an x-ray any way, just to be sure.

I haven't coughed up any blood and there has been no rapid weight loss (if only there was!). I had a genuine cold/cough that led to me actually losing my voice to begin with as well. But - there's always a chance. I did smoke for many years and grew up in a smoking household too.

Its always better to know for sure. Chest cancers are often very treatable and survivable if caught early on. My mother was diagnosed with liver cancer about this time last year - that was untreatable and she was dead within weeks of the diagnosis. I don't know if she could have been helped by an earlier diagnosis but lung cancer certainly can be. As frightening as it is to make the appointments for the GP and the hospital, getting seen early is important.

The thing now is a two week wait for the results. These will be sent to my GP who will contact me if they see anything. If the scan is negative, i.e. nothing found, they don't contact you. So now I'm faced with waiting, with some small amount of anxiety, realistically until the end of month. If I haven't heard anything by August, I'll know I'm in the clear. Fingers crossed then...