I promised that Id put out a more detailed report on my mom tonight, so here it is. The MRI came back about as good as you get. You can see the place on the MRI where the tumor used to be, and its still empty. The swelling has gone down considerably, and overall, Duke was very pleased with how things looked. They said that theyd continue to monitor those outskirt areas where it was hard to get those tiny microscopic cancer cells during surgery, but no changes have occurred since the October MRI, only improvements. Given the aggressive nature of this cancer and the fact that the tumor likely came up over the matter of only a few weeks, thats incredible news. Over these past couple of months, she has been getting the conventional treatment, and for now, the cancer is responding to the treatment. Right now, her platelet count is on the lower end of normal, so Duke wants that number to rally some before they start treatment again. If Duke gives the okay, shell begin more aggressive doses of chemo beginning Monday. She will be starting the clinical trial in January since no significant changes showed up on the MRI. Without getting into the details on that, its basically immunotherapy, which uses your own immune system to fight against the cancer. Even though this kind of therapy isnt anything new, itll most likely be the cancer treatment of the future. There has been huge success with this kind of treatment when coupled with conventional treatment. Overall, my mom has done great. She walks a mile a day and has been doing that for months. She pretty much does everything that she did before she found out about the brain tumor. Her vision is still off, and every once in a while, she has a very mild headache. She still doesnt drive, but I honestly wouldnt be surprised if she starts driving again in a couple of months. As I have expressed many times before, thanks for all of the prayers, kind messages and encouragement through this extremely difficult time. I really dont think things could have gone any better than they have, and I am beyond thankful for that. People have really come together and shown that they really do care for my mom. For that, I am forever grateful, and I can assure you that she is too.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Dec 2014 02:57:45 +0000
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