Recent Scan Results

Well, the journey continues. I recently had a full body MRI and Jim and I were able to discuss the results with my sarcoma specialist a couple of days ago. The good news is that, while there has been some slight growth across all the tumors, most of those in my lungs have only grown slightly. The doc actually termed those tumors “fairly stable.” So, great news because lung mets are inherently dangerous, especially if they’re quickly growing. 

Less fortunately, we learned that the tumors on my lower vertebrae are growing faster than desired. In an effort to slow or even shrink them, the doc is ordering radiation therapy. I have a consultation with the neurosurgeon and interventional radiology next week, after which the treatment will be scheduled. We are hopeful that it will only be one or two rounds, but that will be determined after more scans, of course. 

In addition to the radiation, I will continue taking my daily chemotherapy tablets at home. At this point, the doc is alright with continuing that treatment plan. However, she did say that we may have to look into changing chemo drugs in the future, especially if growth continues. In all honesty, I dread that. I didn’t have a good experience with the chemo she prefers when we tried it in January. If you’re sending out prayers or positive thoughts, please add “no Yondelis to those wishes. 😜

Finally, quite a lot has been happening in regard to my back pain. I recently saw a pain doc who specializes in cancer pain. He has added another pain med to my daily regimen. He has also scheduled me for a procedure later this summer in which he will inject “pain blockers” into the muscles near the vertebral tumors. Hopefully this, coupled with the radiation, will help ease at least some of the pain. That will be a tremendous blessing. The back pain is far more difficult to deal with than the chemo side effects. 

All in all, Jim and I both feel that the MRI results were much better than we expected. We are also thankful that there’s a solid plan for treatment of the vertebral tumors and the back pain. Lastly, we would be remiss if we didn’t express loudly and often how thankful we are for the Palliative Care (PC) team at Stanford. They provide counseling/therapy (there’s a lot of emotion to work through when living with cancer), work tirelessly to seek out appropriate assistance (like the cancer-pain specialist) and fight with the pharmacy when we have issues getting prescriptions pushed through. Many of my pain meds are regulated drugs and the pharmacy balks at filling them, even with correct prescriptions. I bet PC calls them two or three times a month for me. They are amazing!