2/20 Brain MRI and Infusion
On Thursday, February 20th, I headed up north with Kim and Josie in tail. Jo had an MRI of her hip scheduled (She will likely need surgery on her hip come summer time...) and she was tagging along for the day. My last MRI, which was in December, showed that I had lost more tumors, which was excellent news! With five tumors still in my brain, we decided to guess how many would show up this time. We'd had a string of great MRI's and were hopeful this one would be too!
Well, after the MRI, I sat down with my MA, Carolyn, to go over the news. When news has been good, she's come in with a big smile on her face. Unfortunately, this time, that wasn't the case. In fact, she expressed some serious concern for what she'd seen. Based on her preliminary viewing of the MRI, it appeared to her that, despite two more tumors disappearing, the other 3 had grown and there was potentially a new tumor. Her opinion was that this was indicative of disease progression, which meant that the current course of treatment was no longer working.
After breaking the news, she immediately jumped into all sorts of options, including clinical trials. I hadn't really even seen the MRI yet and, after seeing the MRI, I struggled with her response. Here are three pictures from the MRI...
In each of the images, the left picture is the new MRI and the right picture is the MRI from December 2019. I know they look bigger, but the shape is also weird and it's really only the outside of the tumor that is lighting up. When I read through the official reporting on this, they indicated that there were signs that corresponded with hemorrhaging. Hemorrhaging, as I've said before, is what melanoma tumors can naturally do during the process of dying. So not only do the tumors look weird shaped, but they are also hemorrhaging, which, to me, may indicate that these tumors are actually dying and not growing. That being said, I'm not a doctor, nor am I a professional. The radiation oncologist that has done all of my radiation treatments said that she thinks it might be disease progression. Again, she THINKS that it MIGHT be disease progression. There is nothing for sure at this point.
Let's keep going...
If the immunotherapy had initially garnered a response in both my body and my brain, it would be assumed that if it stopped working in my brain, it also would have stopped working in my body. It has been a month since my brain MRI and I have yet to see anything growing on my body. For those of you that don't remember, below is a picture of me just a couple months after being diagnosed, at which time there was one incredibly small bump on my chest...
These aren't even the worst ones! From September 11th, 2018 to mid-December that same year (only 3 months), my bumps had multiplied from one almost indiscernible bump to over 130 bumps like the ones you can see in the pictures. However, in the month since the most recent scan, I have yet to find a bump on my body. If the immunotherapy wasn't working like it had been, I would anticipate many bumps on my body, but that's not the case. My thoughts? It might not be disease progression at all. But we will find out...
All the conjecture aside, it is what it is. The path of this disease is out of my control. If it is disease progression, then targeted radiation is the preferred approach. Fortunately, my body scans have shown stability in my body, which is a prerequisite for insurance approval of targeted radiation. That submission for approval has been made and now it's just a waiting game. We will see what happens!
My infusion for the day was just my immunotherapy drug. It was pretty quick! For the most part, the day went great!
As far as the possibility of the tumors growing, it's in God's hands. He's in the details. I trust Him and His plan for me. Elder Wirthlin's motto "Come what may and love it" is what I live by. I also live by our motto..."Faith Over Fear". Fear is a choice. So is faith. I just do my best to enjoy the ride with those I love and sharing my story with others! I'm truly blessed and wouldn't change anything!
Thank you everyone for your support!
Well, after the MRI, I sat down with my MA, Carolyn, to go over the news. When news has been good, she's come in with a big smile on her face. Unfortunately, this time, that wasn't the case. In fact, she expressed some serious concern for what she'd seen. Based on her preliminary viewing of the MRI, it appeared to her that, despite two more tumors disappearing, the other 3 had grown and there was potentially a new tumor. Her opinion was that this was indicative of disease progression, which meant that the current course of treatment was no longer working.
After breaking the news, she immediately jumped into all sorts of options, including clinical trials. I hadn't really even seen the MRI yet and, after seeing the MRI, I struggled with her response. Here are three pictures from the MRI...
In each of the images, the left picture is the new MRI and the right picture is the MRI from December 2019. I know they look bigger, but the shape is also weird and it's really only the outside of the tumor that is lighting up. When I read through the official reporting on this, they indicated that there were signs that corresponded with hemorrhaging. Hemorrhaging, as I've said before, is what melanoma tumors can naturally do during the process of dying. So not only do the tumors look weird shaped, but they are also hemorrhaging, which, to me, may indicate that these tumors are actually dying and not growing. That being said, I'm not a doctor, nor am I a professional. The radiation oncologist that has done all of my radiation treatments said that she thinks it might be disease progression. Again, she THINKS that it MIGHT be disease progression. There is nothing for sure at this point.
Let's keep going...
If the immunotherapy had initially garnered a response in both my body and my brain, it would be assumed that if it stopped working in my brain, it also would have stopped working in my body. It has been a month since my brain MRI and I have yet to see anything growing on my body. For those of you that don't remember, below is a picture of me just a couple months after being diagnosed, at which time there was one incredibly small bump on my chest...
These aren't even the worst ones! From September 11th, 2018 to mid-December that same year (only 3 months), my bumps had multiplied from one almost indiscernible bump to over 130 bumps like the ones you can see in the pictures. However, in the month since the most recent scan, I have yet to find a bump on my body. If the immunotherapy wasn't working like it had been, I would anticipate many bumps on my body, but that's not the case. My thoughts? It might not be disease progression at all. But we will find out...
All the conjecture aside, it is what it is. The path of this disease is out of my control. If it is disease progression, then targeted radiation is the preferred approach. Fortunately, my body scans have shown stability in my body, which is a prerequisite for insurance approval of targeted radiation. That submission for approval has been made and now it's just a waiting game. We will see what happens!
My infusion for the day was just my immunotherapy drug. It was pretty quick! For the most part, the day went great!
As far as the possibility of the tumors growing, it's in God's hands. He's in the details. I trust Him and His plan for me. Elder Wirthlin's motto "Come what may and love it" is what I live by. I also live by our motto..."Faith Over Fear". Fear is a choice. So is faith. I just do my best to enjoy the ride with those I love and sharing my story with others! I'm truly blessed and wouldn't change anything!
Thank you everyone for your support!
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