Tuesday, September 14, 2010
About my recent scans --
The actual tests were easier than the ones I originally had, mainly because I'm not a fan of the MRI experience and I had two in May. The other test I had in May was a PET scan, which isn't a big deal except you can only eat lean proteins (with no marinade, spices, etc) and certain veggies for 24 hours before. That fell on Mother's Day and the only things I ate were plain baked chicken, celery and green peppers. Yum. The PET scan also includes being injected with radioactive dye and sitting still for an hour before the test (no reading, etc). None of that on Friday. I think Dr. Kaplan rotates tests, so both of those are likely going to be part of the next round.
But you don't really care about that, do you? You want to know what I learned YESTERDAY.
Overall, the scans show good improvement.
The tumor in my breast has shrunk by approximately 40%. That's good but at this point it isn't doing any harm, no matter what size it is. It was responsible for passing the cells on to my lymph nodes, where the bigger problems started. But, progress is progress.
The lymph node tumor shrunk by 50%. That's more significant. Getting that under control will help keep everything else stable.
The rest of the results aren't as easy to put percentages or numbers on, mainly because I had different tests this time, so there isn't a 1:1 comparison.
Many, but not all of the bone tumors show scar tissue, which is a good thing. That basically means they're dying. Others have shrunk but don't show signs of scar tissue, which is good in a different way. It also sounds like some of them have remained the same size. I'm not sure I'm thrilled about that. It's good that they aren't bigger but why aren't they doing anything else? That's one question on my list, although I suspect the answer will be my favorite, "It's too early to tell". I asked the nurse and she said some "hang out" for a while and then they shrink quickly. Others might not respond to the current meds and at some point we'll know whether it's time to try a new drug. More waiting and "what ifs".
And finally, my liver. That was the hardest to compare to the last scan so we still have to base some of the results on my clinical exams. The fact that I have a normal size liver, even though many of the tumors appear to be the same size, means something good happened that wasn't visible on the test. There is evidence of scar tissue in many, but not all of the tumors. More info will come next time. I do have a couple questions about the report, which I’ll ask next week.
Lots going through my mind but I'll save that for another time.
The actual tests were easier than the ones I originally had, mainly because I'm not a fan of the MRI experience and I had two in May. The other test I had in May was a PET scan, which isn't a big deal except you can only eat lean proteins (with no marinade, spices, etc) and certain veggies for 24 hours before. That fell on Mother's Day and the only things I ate were plain baked chicken, celery and green peppers. Yum. The PET scan also includes being injected with radioactive dye and sitting still for an hour before the test (no reading, etc). None of that on Friday. I think Dr. Kaplan rotates tests, so both of those are likely going to be part of the next round.
But you don't really care about that, do you? You want to know what I learned YESTERDAY.
Overall, the scans show good improvement.
The tumor in my breast has shrunk by approximately 40%. That's good but at this point it isn't doing any harm, no matter what size it is. It was responsible for passing the cells on to my lymph nodes, where the bigger problems started. But, progress is progress.
The lymph node tumor shrunk by 50%. That's more significant. Getting that under control will help keep everything else stable.
The rest of the results aren't as easy to put percentages or numbers on, mainly because I had different tests this time, so there isn't a 1:1 comparison.
Many, but not all of the bone tumors show scar tissue, which is a good thing. That basically means they're dying. Others have shrunk but don't show signs of scar tissue, which is good in a different way. It also sounds like some of them have remained the same size. I'm not sure I'm thrilled about that. It's good that they aren't bigger but why aren't they doing anything else? That's one question on my list, although I suspect the answer will be my favorite, "It's too early to tell". I asked the nurse and she said some "hang out" for a while and then they shrink quickly. Others might not respond to the current meds and at some point we'll know whether it's time to try a new drug. More waiting and "what ifs".
And finally, my liver. That was the hardest to compare to the last scan so we still have to base some of the results on my clinical exams. The fact that I have a normal size liver, even though many of the tumors appear to be the same size, means something good happened that wasn't visible on the test. There is evidence of scar tissue in many, but not all of the tumors. More info will come next time. I do have a couple questions about the report, which I’ll ask next week.
Lots going through my mind but I'll save that for another time.
1 comments:
I am really glad to hear all this stuff! Keep up the strength lady! You make me work harder just thinking about how hard you're working at fighting this beast! Peace to you.
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