May 11th Appointment

I had my 4 month follow up on May 11th and the results were very uplifting. The new MRI images revealed a slight diminishing of the tumor. My Doctor was quite positive of this because, according to her, the MRI "slices" were lined up exactly with the original images that she uses for comparison. This match gave her the best possible advantage to be able to make those comparisons and come to an undeniable conclusion. I am quite pleased with the outcome! She has also, at my request, prescribed a new anti-depressant for me called Effexor that a dear friend of mine is currently taking and is extremely happy with. Time will tell if it has the same effect on me.......but I'm hopeful :~). My next appointment will be in September and will include an MRI with profusion (the one that takes 3 hours). Fingers crossed that it may yield some even more encouraging results.

New Year Update

I've had little to report since my last entry. My Doctors and I continue to monitor my tumor with regular MRI's but now every four months versus every three. Since ending the chemo treatments I've been in a waiting game. Waiting until the next appointment to see if it has grown......or shrunk, it has done neither by the way! It's bitter-sweet. Because the chemo didn't shrink and or destroy the tumor, we have moved to stage of prolonging and slowing it's progress. If it does begin to grow I'll have to consider Radiation therapy as a method of doing such but, I'll cross that gorge when and if I get to it. As for now I am doing well. I have finally forced myself to take my needed medications regularly and after suffering through some horrid side effects.....I feel myself leveling out. As always......thanks for reading and thanks for caring :~)

July 30th Results

OK....I had some trouble with my account not allowing me to sign in but, obviously, it's fixed now.

On Friday July 24th, I was at work when I had an extreme dizzy spell that almost caused me to fall to the ground, followed by nausea and a spinning sensation. It continued to worsen as the day progressed. I grew more and more concerned until I eventually called my Doctor's office to inform them of my symptoms. After carefully examining them, it was decided that I may possibly be having minor seizures. I contacted my sister who then called my parent's and they came and drove me home from work when I got off. These sensations continued throughout the weekend as I struggled to make it through my shifts. On Monday I again called the Doctor's office and informed them that it was still happening. They decided to schedule me for an EEG for the following Wednesday (an EGG measures brain waves and brain function to see if interruptions are being caused by any abnormalities). I went in for the EGG and was told that I would get the results the following day at my July 30th appointment.

So now that bring us to the long awaited July 30th! The day I've been so anxiously waiting for, and the day that could change everything. My Parents had to leave for England on the 29th so my Sister, Aunt Karen, and Sean went with me for emotional support and to help relay the message to Mom and Dad.

Dr. Fink and her colleagues reviewed all of the data and determined that the MRI scans from all of the different months were not all exactly at the same level (slices). Basically, the tumor had NOT grown, just remained the same! Now the question is, did the chemo keep it from growing or has the tumor stabilized itself? We decided the best plan of action right now is to not proceed with the radiation or the chemo. We are going to monitor the tumor by doing MRI's with profusion every 2 months. If it begins to grow without treatment, then we must react! I'm so excited that for the first time since May of 08 I may have the chance to feel somewhat "normal" again, or at least have a higher energy level.

As far as the seizures and the EGG......there were no signs of recent seizures. Dr. Fink believes the symptoms were actually brought on by Vertigo, something I've never had before, but is treatable.

All in all I am quite pleased with the outcome and even though I know it's nowhere near over, this was one huge hurdle that I've made it through. For me, this was the "best case scenario" for this situation. Now its on to the next one!

July 09 MRI results

It has been too long since my last entry and I appologize for the vast delay, I've been dealing with alot of emotion battles and fighting a deep depression. I know that for several of you this blog is the only means you have to keep yourself updated on current events and status changes and I feel horrible that I stopped trying to update it on a regular basis. With that said, here is the latest news.

Over the past few months the tumor, which showed slight signs of shrinking, had stopped doing so and maintained it's size. These factors led to my Doctor's concerns that we needed to possibly consider alternate treatment options. I had an MRI on July 8th, following round 11 of Chemo, to see if the treatments were making a difference. The results of this MRI are very prelimenary but very discouraging. The tumor, much to our surprise, appears to have grown. Dr. Fink decided that we may be doing more harm than good to my body and cancelled all future Chemo treatments. Over the next two weeks she will be taking these images to her colleagues (The Tumor Board) to, again, obtain a collective decision on what the next step should be. I have another appt on July 30th to discuss radiation treatments and to hear what specific treatment plan they have designed for me and my case. She wants me to begin soon and it would take six weeks to complete, Mon-Fri, at the Baylor facility in downtown Dallas. She also mentioned that the chances of me having seizures would be elevated once we stopped the chemo process. The most disturbing bit of info that she had for me, and again this very preliminary, is that the point of the Chemo was to shrink, and ultimately dissolve the tumor......since that didn't work, the radiation's main objective would be to "extend my survival time"....radiation is not a cure, it merely slows the progression and intensity of the tumor. At this point it is highly probable that I will have to take a leave of absence from work for these treatments as I will not be able to drive myself the 25 miles or so to Dallas everyday, then be strong enough to deal with the day to day duties of my job. Jennifer, my sister, and I are taking steps to get all of the appropriate paperwork in order to be prepared for the "worst case" scenario. Not to be fatalistic....just prepared for anything.

I will do my best to update this blog after the July 30th appt and not let so much time pass between entries. I will be giving all of my access information to my Sister and my Father in the event that I am unable to maitain it myself. As always, I want to say thank you to everyone who has shown their support and especially to my family whom, without them, I could have never made it this far. You all mean so much to me and keep me going, for that I could never repay you. I love you all!

Restarting Chemo

FINALLY after several road blocks I am, once again, back on chemo. I anxiously started again last night. I still have the "shock" feelings but they are not as frequent as before however, they do occur daily. I am not, at this point, convinced that it is a result of abruptly halting my anti-depressants since it is still with me despite the fact that I removed myself from them several months ago. My headaches have come back over the past week or so which is why I have been so ready to begin treatment again. The headaches subside with the Chemo treatments and become almost non-existent. I have also experienced some dizziness and nausea as a result of these headaches. This round is the second of the higher dosage and I'm not quite sure what to expect. I will update as soon as I can once this round has commenced. As always, thank you all for your constant and continued support. It really is the difference between getting through this or not.

August 20 MRI Results

I'm relieved to tell you that the results of Wednesdays MRI were very good. There is no growth of the tumor at all, even after skipping Chemo for a month. The doctors seem to think that the "shock" feelings were a side effect of taking myself off of my anti-depressants abruptly. It has been fading in and out for the past three days or so and I am told it should just go away with time. I will resume Chemo again on August 27th.

Halting Chemo

My Doctors appointment yesterday did not go quite so well. I have new symptoms that have developed and others that have worsened. For the past week I have experienced feelings that I can only describe as electric shock whenever I move. These feelings are strongest when I have eye movement or when I'm walking, primarily when my feet touch the ground. On the worst days I also experience some minor dizziness. Memory has also been an increasing issue over the past several weeks. I have been frustrated about it but I shrugged it off as stress, my Doctor is not so convinced. She put me through the usual memory test yesterday and I didn't do so well. She has decided to stop the Chemo treatments immediately and I will undergo a three hour MRI on the morning of Aug 20 at 9:00 am, followed by a neuro-oncologist visit at 3:oo pm that same day to review the results. These exams are to see what is causing my "shock" feelings and to see if the tumor has advanced or grown.