Update.

Last week Thursday, I had an appointment for a nuclear bone scan. When I arrived at the health center, I realized that it was not the same clinic that I usually visit. The sign said, 'Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center.' Ummm what? This made me a bit uneasy because my new rheumatologist questioned me about tests I had done before, and she mentioned cancer. I previously tested for cancer in the past and it was negative, but I almost never rule out possibilities.

Though I knew the equipments needed to perform the procedure were only located in that building, it all felt coincidental. I wore a head scarf that day (to avoid combing my hair) which made everyone glance at me. The place was filled with senior citizens, some bald (some with head scarfs like mine), some in wheelchairs, and others with canes. My mom and I were the youngest in the clinic. Why am I here? I thought.

After waiting for my scheduled time, the nurse finally called my name. She walked me into a room to prep me for the bone scan by injecting a radioactive dye into my arm. I had to wait 3 hours for the dye to spread throughout my body before I could proceed. The nurse escorted me back to the waiting area and I sat with my mom until they were ready. Tears filled my eyes. Anxiety got the best of me, and I was panicking for no reason. My mom saw the tears falling from my face, and she walked me to an area that had no one around. I had no control of how I was feeling. I cried so much that my mom began crying. I didn't want that. Then, my cousin called me on video to ensure me that everything would be okay. She also became teary-eyed seeing how scared I had become. After she hung up, I spent the time deep breathing, when my dad called as well. Everyone trusted that everything would be fine, so I knew that I needed to relax. It took a while, but when I did, I felt exhausted.

After that moment, it was time to do the bone scan. What was supposed to take 20 minutes took about 2 hours. The nurse showed a doctor the scans that they did, and he insisted on doing more than what was requested from my rheumatologist. He also asked me specific questions like if he was trying to put puzzles together from what he saw. I am currently awaiting my results which should be on the 13th. Why did the doctor look so confused?