Overwhelmed in CT

I think I am on information overload! I am unable to be in CT all of the time. I usually get two days per week in CT while the other three are spent in x-ray. I learn best by repetition and sometimes going back and forth between modalities does not help in this area. I have taken great notes and use them as references a lot. Learning protocols and reading scripts to make sure the patients symptoms and diagnosis meet the scan that has been ordered, is constant confusion! I work with two CT techs that have done CT for many years. They are great at what they do, but sometimes I feel that no matter how much I have learned, it is never enough for them. They can scan really fast, and I know I slow them down when I am scanning. Somedays I walk out of there pretty discouraged.

Last week, I got a real eye opener! We do radiation treatment planning with the oncology department . We had a breast cancer patient that was middle age that had recently been diagnosed, and was getting ready to start treatments. As we scanned, we were shocked at what we saw. This patient's breast cancer was so invasive, it had ate through her sternum. Her skin on the lateral side of her armpit down her ribcage was red, inflamed and oozing. The smell was horrid! We were stunned and confused as to why she waited so long to go to the doctor. She had to know something was wrong many months ago or longer! Obviously this patient had been in denial for quite some time. They are unable to do surgery at this point, because it has become so invasive. Their hope is to shrink it, but her prognosis is grim.. The oncology team said it was one of the worst cases they had seen in years.