MRI Results
Hi Everyone,
Evan had his MRI this morning and then met with Evan’s Oncologist and Radiation Oncologist this afternoon. There was very little swelling around the tumor, so the images were very clear – thank goodness! I think we would have gone crazy if we had to wait for three more months till the next scan.
The tumor has been reduced by about 25-30%. This is good news, but not great news. I think we were hoping to hear something more like 50% or more. And I know Evan was hoping to hear 100%. But 30% is better than 10% or 20%, and it’s definitely better than no change at all, so we’ll take it!
The radiation continues to work on the tumor for several months after the last treatment, and the chemotherapy will continue to fight the cancer cells as well – so we’re hoping the tumor will continue shrinking, and that we’ll see additional reduction in his next MRI three months from now.
Thanks for all your support. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers more than we can say. We wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving and we’ll be in touch after our trip.
Love,
Margot
P.S. I also wanted to let you know that my good friend Cheryl Wilde helped me set up a little family website, if you’d like to check it out. The address is www.mgardinergazette.blogspot.com.
It includes all my e-mails since Evan’s diagnosis, and I’ve posted a bunch of family photos there too. My computer had a nervous breakdown when I tried to send attachments to such a long list of recipients, so this will be easier to use in that way. I’ll still send out the e-mails, but from now on they’ll be posted on the website as well. Also, if there’s anyone who isn’t already on my e-mail list, they can just check the website from time to time and look for the latest updates. Take care, and we’ll talk to you soon.
Evan's Break From Treatment
Dear Family & Friends,
It’s been a while – sorry for the long silence. Evan is hanging in there. It’s been four weeks since his last radiation treatment, and he’s been on a break from chemotherapy since then as well. We had hoped that he would be feeling a lot better by now, but the improvements have been fairly subtle.
The first two weeks after the end of radiation turned out to be the worst. He finally started experiencing the nausea that we’d been warned about (but thought we had avoided), and he was about as weak and tired and sore as he’s ever been. The last couple weeks have been a little better though. The nausea is gone now, and we’ve seen some mild improvements in his energy level. Also, his personality and sense of humor has started to come back lately. All good signs! The progress is slow, but we’re hoping it will continue even after he goes back on the chemo.
As for the blood clot concerns, they remain a constant issue but not a major threat. The cancer’s effect on the blood makes it difficult for the blood thinners to keep things stable, but he gets it checked every week (or twice a week when it starts doing crazy things) and the doctors adjust the Coumadin accordingly. It’s been a little annoying to deal with, but it’s probably a walk in the park compared to what people with diabetes have to go through, so I’m sure we’ll get used to it.
All in all, the break from treatment has been good. We’ve enjoyed having fewer doctor appointments, fewer medications to take, and Evan has been able to get out a little more too. Last weekend, Evan felt well enough to spend the better part of two whole days with his mom and siblings as we celebrated an early Thanksgiving. It was the first time Evan and his brothers and sisters had been all together in several years. Monte, and his family, came up from Arizona, and his sister, Joy, came out from North Carolina. Alan and Jan were already here in Utah. We had a great time, and really enjoyed seeing everybody.
This week we’re looking forward to our big trip to Southern California. We leave on Wednesday and won’t be back until Friday of the next week. It should be just what the doctor ordered, for all of us. We’re planning to have lots of fun and come back ready to face the next phase of treatment.
The other big event for this week is that Evan has his next MRI tomorrow (Tuesday). It will give us the first look at the tumor since he started treatment. If the images are clear, it should give us the first indications of how effective the radiation has been. The doctors have warned us that there is a possibility that the images won’t be clear since the radiation causes a lot of swelling around the tumor, and sometimes it takes more than four weeks for the inflammation to subside. But we’re crossing our fingers for clear pictures and good news! I’ll be sure to send out a quick e-mail tomorrow night and share the results with you before we leave town.
We hope this letter finds you all doing well, and we wish you a very Happy Thanksgiving!!! Thanks for all your prayers!
Love,
Margot
