Texas Results

My plans for getting a few extra hours of sleep?  Out the window.  Peanut woke up when daddy was getting ready to leave the hotel room and he refused to go back to sleep.  Crudola.  It was still dark outside, for pete’s sake.  E. reported that his PET/CT was uneventful and there was very little waiting time since he was obviously one of the first appointments of the morning.

We made it to the 10:00 brain doctor appointment with plenty of time to spare.  Dr. L. didn’t beat around the bush and as soon as she walked into the room, she said, “The MRI’s are looking good.  They are stable.”  You can’t imagine how comforting those words are.  She compared the current MRI to the one done in Reno in March and said, the MRI in March looked “more bubbly in the back” and looks “a little more condensed now.”  When I asked if that was a good or a bad thing, she said she couldn’t say, but did say that she thought it was “just the evolution after the radiation.”  That sounds good to me.  She said the areas in the front of the brain look very similar in the two MRI’s, which is also a good thing.  She further stated, “I don’t see any nodular problem.  If there was a little mass instead of being more diffused, that would be a problem, but I’m not seeing that.”  She stated that there were no nodules forming and no increased enhancement or brightness.  All good stuff.

Dr. L. examined E. and noted that his left leg is a little unsteady and weaker than the right.  His vision is also affected, particularly in his left eye ... most likely because of “what’s in the brain.”  We wouldn’t exactly describe Dr. L. as warm and personable, but thought she was the friendliest she’s every been today.  She ended the visit by saying, “Things are pretty good.”  Pretty good indeed.  She recommended that E. get another MRI in three months in Reno, and then follow-up again in six months at MD Anderson.  In the meantime, she strongly encouraged E. to report any and all changes that he notices.

We then headed over to see Dr. A., the medical oncologist.  I think we wound up waiting 2.5 hours for a 5 minute appointment.  I am not kidding.  Dr. A. always cracks us up because he is a small statured man who is very soft spoken ... and he is always surrounded by an entourage.  It is like he is famous celebrity surrounded by bodyguards, fans and paparazzi.  In a sense, I guess he is famous, just in the cancer world.  As you may recall, he ranked in the top 1% of cancer doctors, so I’m sure many people want to learn from him.  Anyways, he flew into our room and remarked that the “PET looks clear.”  Woohoo!  He also commented that the little activity in the brain looks better too.  I asked about the possibility of an “N.E.D.” (“no evidence of disease”) status as those words once meant so much, but we haven’t really heard it mentioned since E. had his mets to the brain.  Sure enough, with the “activity” going on in E.’s brain, (and even though the MRI’s have been “stable”) an NED status eludes us.  Dr. A. then kinda shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes at me ... “What’s in a label anyways?” he said.  Ha!  Labels shmabels.  Looks like I have to kick NED to the curb.  He was a nice boyfriend while he lasted but I don’t have time for him anymore.  

We’re pretty thrilled with these words now ... “The PET/CT is clear and the MRI is stable.”  

So, another MRI in Reno in September and then back to Texas next December for the whole shabang.  We got this.  Or at least it feels like it right now.  And it feels good.