Apologies for being a bad uninvited and unauthorized guest blogger...
The news is good. After two weeks of radiation and about four weeks of Votrient, scan showed the tumor in pelvis area is smaller, the one in chest is stable, and there are tiny (1 mm) increases in nodules in right kidney and one lung lobe since last scan in early July. More encouraging is that the pain has been on the wane for two weeks. The pain meds have been dropping out and the woman looks better, too. The insurance appeal even went through.
All told, a pretty nice ride on the roller coaster.
Steve
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
Good News, Bad News, but on balance, Better News
Becca received a report from an MRI on her pelvis this week. The good news is that her larger tumors, which had not responded to her most recent chemotherapy (AIM), have substantially shrunk by 2, 3 and 6 centimeters, respectively, since her last scan on July 6. They have gone from big and hard to smaller and softer. Speculation centers on the possibility of the Votrient pills she has been taking for about 10 days working super well, but your guess is as good as the next doctor’s.
Secondly, her lungs are clear so that one appears to be status quo.
In the bad news department, there are two newly identified small tumors. There are two areas of concern:
Most concern is the soft tissue area growing out of her sacrum into tissues parallel to it and trapping the nerve root area. This is what has been causing her really, really bad pain. Becca continues to take methadone, which is sort of the “backbone for pain”; Neurontin for nerve pain; and Dilaudid for extra pain as needed.
The second area of concern is a small tumor nearing the spinal canal, and, of course, you don’t want it to let anything into that canal (spinal cord = bad).
Doctor Tracy described the new tumors as “not an emergency” but better to radiate sooner than later. So presto, Becca begins radiation at 8 am sharp on Monday morning, which is as soon as possible. This will be standard external beam radiation, which is not considered dangerous, as it works around the nerve.
Abby and I will be off to Berkeley family camp tomorrow morning, so I wanted to get this off before I go offline.
Best,
Steve
Secondly, her lungs are clear so that one appears to be status quo.
In the bad news department, there are two newly identified small tumors. There are two areas of concern:
Most concern is the soft tissue area growing out of her sacrum into tissues parallel to it and trapping the nerve root area. This is what has been causing her really, really bad pain. Becca continues to take methadone, which is sort of the “backbone for pain”; Neurontin for nerve pain; and Dilaudid for extra pain as needed.
The second area of concern is a small tumor nearing the spinal canal, and, of course, you don’t want it to let anything into that canal (spinal cord = bad).
Doctor Tracy described the new tumors as “not an emergency” but better to radiate sooner than later. So presto, Becca begins radiation at 8 am sharp on Monday morning, which is as soon as possible. This will be standard external beam radiation, which is not considered dangerous, as it works around the nerve.
Abby and I will be off to Berkeley family camp tomorrow morning, so I wanted to get this off before I go offline.
Best,
Steve
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