Tuesday was another MRI for John. It looked exactly the same as his one in December which is a good thing. The doctor said it looked “perfect” in December. John will start his 9th round of chemo on Sunday night. It doesn’t seem like it’s really been nine months since he started the chemo process. It’s always nerve racking on the drive down for the MRI. I’m nervous but don’t say anything because I don’t want to worry John because I know he’s worried and doesn’t want to worry me. Then we are both nervous until we go up and see the doctor. He runs through the whole neurological analysis before he pulls up the scan and flips through it. The analysis takes like five minutes but it always seems so long on scan days.
No matter what the scan looks like it always trips me out to see the black spot where the tumor was. It’s filled in with cerebral fluid but it just this weird reminder that they had to take out part of his brain. I don’t really think about it much until I see it. Then I give him a hard time all the way home. If he forgets a word or takes a few seconds to complete his thought process I ask him if its disappeared into the black hole in his head! I’m so mean! He laughs about it though and I suppose it’s a good thing to be able to laugh at everything we’ve been through.
John’s a little nervous to stop the chemo after the twelfth round. The chances of a tumor coming back while he’s on the chemo are pretty slim so it’s kind of reassuring to be on it. That is such a bizarre feeling after dreading the start of chemo. It becomes a kind of safety net against the progression of the cancer when it comes to this kind of cancer. The doctor said it actually takes a few years for all the chemo to work itself out and that generally that’s a good thing with oligo’s. It means that it’s slowed down the process and that it will increase the time in between re-occurrence. The longer he goes between tumors means the longer his prognosis will be.
I should see if I can figure out how to get a picture of his MRI off the disc so I can post it. If you want to see the black hole leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I find MRI’s fascinating but some might not. I really should have been a doctor.
That is wonderful news! Still keeping your family in my thoughts. Tell him to think positive. He has people in his corner.
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Hey Erin! So I was just thinking as I was reading this….why can’t people just stay on chemo forever? Ok – I know that sounds really weird and bad – who wants to do that? If it doesn’t have that many side effects, what are the reasons? Is it because chemo really is bad for you in the long term? I don’t know – it just seems like it helps keep the tumor away, you know what I mean. This question is probably really naive but I wanted to ask anyway! Sorry if it was rude or dumb or whatever! Love ya!
Not rude, dumb or naive! We actually asked at the appointment! In the long run this class of chemo can cause leukemia. So cure one cancer to give yourself isn\’t really the best plan of action. They still don\’t know the best course for this chemo because as far as brain tumors go it\’s a relatively new drug in that it\’s been used for less than 15 years I think. Some go with lower doses for 18 months to two years and others go with the higher dose for one year which is the plan he is on. Hopefully it is the best one for us!