Chad & I went to his oncologist yesterday, hoping to get some good news from his MRI results.
We knew what we were going to hear. We had been clearly prepared by his medical team before he started chemo.
His tumor(s) is slow-growing. Which means it is also slow to respond to treatment. His MRI showed no growth - but no shrinkage either. Here's an excerpt from the official radiology report for those of you that want to take a nap or risk being bombastic:
"Redemonstrated is a large infiltrating mass with mild heterogeneous enhancement involving the parasagittal left frontoparietal lobe and superior corpus callosum is not appreciably changed in overall size or mass effect. Previously demonstrating peripherally enhancing area peripherally in the high left parietal lobe just deep to the craniotomy site no longer demonstrates enhancement. Small enhancing lesion with surrounding T2 and FLAIR signal abnormality posteriorly within the superior left temporal lobe is not appreciably changed. No new intracranial abnormalities demonstrated. No hydrocephalus."
So, we stay the course for now. Chad will continue chemo. He is scheduled to start round five next week, round six the end of June, and round 7 the end of July. This may sound confusing but, once again, he is on a 28 day cycle treatment; 5 days on and 23 days off. In August, he will have another MRI and we'll go from there.
In all likelihood, he will be on chemo for another six rounds, at least. In August, we may discuss the possibility of adding a different chemo drug and/or radiation.
But for now, things are good.
His seizures are under control.
He looks good.
He feels great (except for chemoweek).
about me
- skye
- We honeymooned in, Antigua & Barbuda
- Mommy and Wife: Short-order cook. Bug squisher. Comedian. Band-Aid authority. Cleaning lady. Photog. Interior decorator. Freelance journalist. Personal shopper. Teacher. Chauffeur.
5 comments:
There is truth to the old adage - no news is good news. Hang in there ya'll! The next cycle may be the one that kickstarts that shrinkage! And btw Chad - Gramaine meant that she would be joining you on the chemo journey!:)
Hugs to you guys. I agree with Nana on the no new is good news. I hope he continues to tolerate the chemo fairly well. Linda
I'm thinking of you guys...I agree w/Nana...:)
My friend Marvin was diagnosed with an oligo in Dec 2007. He is working very hard to find a cure for the tumor and things look very promising. He has a stage-2-3. Contact me at Jeanne@fansong.net if you'd like to reach him. His name his Marvin Shoop. I wrote about his condition on my blog: soon2b4.wordpress.com. Keep the faith!
Hi Lanfords! I love your website and posts! Can you tell me how Chad is doing? I may not have ready your site thoroughly enough, but I am wondering what kind or tumor Chad has/had? I am doing quite a bit of research and every little bit helps.
If you are interested in some of my research or my situation in general, you can reach me at my website at www.marvinshoop.com. Clock on "blog" to read information on research and on fundraisers. Thanks!
Marvin Shoop
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