13. 4th June 2021 - Transthoracic Echocardiogram (TTE)

This is a diagnostic ultrasound test to check my heart prior to having the Trastuzumab (Herceptin).

I make my way to Cardiology and was told to take a specific seat in the waiting area. After about 5 minutes I am called through by the Sonographer. She hands me a gown and asks me to change my top half and then lie on the bed on my left side. She is very nice but quite reserved and doesn’t say much. She put some electrodes on my chest to record my heart rate and then spread gel on my chest. A probe is pressed onto my skin and she moves it around, checking blood flow and my heart valves. She asks me to breathe in and to move into different positions at various points - I tried looking at the screen during the scan but wasn’t really sure what I was looking at - it did make some good whooshing sounds though!

The scan took about half an hour to complete and was completely painless. The Sonographer gave nothing away but said the results would be reviewed by a Consultant and the results sent to Oncology.

I left none the wiser but a step closer to chemo starting. And life carries on.