The Word B

today, was once again a day i spent feeling sick. it all started off with fasting for 12 hours prior to waking up at dawn. upon waking i am supposed to drink down this contrast dye that highlights my gastro-intestinal tract, not once, but twice i must drink (30 minutes apart). the contrast is the most awful, disgusting liquid you can imagine. every time i put it near my lips and swallow, i am on the verge of retching. usually the first two gulps come up, go back down, come up again, before i can muster the will power to keep it down, that is followed by the rest of the liquid. this is the good shit. there is another contrast that looks and feels like a milk shake, but is so much more horrible in taste. if i could describe it accurately, it tastes like somebody elses puke!
then it is off to hospital, where i am judiciously canulated and injected full of iodine, to highlight my cardio-vascular system (which makes you feel warm and fuzzy all over but in a very wrong way). then i am moved back and forth on the CT scanning machine and asked to hold my breath, all while hanging my arms in the air above my head. does this sound like witch doctor stuff to anyone else? once this is all over, i make a mad dash for the exit. i have felt like shit all the rest of the day. but now, two years after cancer and chemotherapy, this regular check up is becoming a bit routine. it is way fucked up, but now part of my life.
later in the week i will blog my cancer story. stay tuned.