Monday, June 20, 2016

Then There Was More...

Hello Again!

So Brian had an MRI on Friday that was ordered very quickly. 

This morning we got a call to come in TODAY. Of course we were freaking out thinking the worst! When we got there, after some jokes about gross Krystal burgers, the radiation doctor told us the MRI showed no new surprises.  What a relief! There is still the same lace-like area that they saw in January that is cancer but it has NOT changed at all. This means meds, diet, or previous meds or even a combination has worked in keeping the brain areas under control. There is still a 4mm new mass that is TINY!  Because the cancer is under control we found out now is the perfect time for whole brain radiation. The doctor was insanely positive and as she said she isn't just blow rainbows at us. One of the best predictors of how successful whole brain radiation is depends on how healthy or normal functioning the patient is. Brian is the best he's been in years so we are feeling good about the possibilities.

We will begin on Monday. There will be at least 10 sessions and there will be a few side effects: some short term memory such as numbers or grocery lists, skin irritation and fatigue.  However, Brian's personality and smart comments will not go anywhere.  All of these side effects are very manageable. We are happy that this seems like a good way to keep the brain cancer at bay.

Love to you all!

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

After 3 months...

Hey everyone! Of course you have noticed there has not been an update in quite some time. That is because things have been wonderful!!! We have been living pretty normal life, having fun, and taking it easy.  Brian started a new diet 3 months ago to help with shrinking the cancer and has been kicking butt.

So why the update now?
 Brian had scans a week and a half ago and we got the results today. We thought because Brian has had so much energy and has only been having a muscle tightness in his shoulder that we would get a great report. It was not as great as we were expecting.

There is no new cancer in Brian's body. However there is a 4mm mass in the brain that they will treat with targeted radiation. As far as the irregular stuff they found in the brain in January there has been no change. An MRI will tell us more but it could potentially be scar tissue. As far as the masses in his body there are no new ones but some of the ones there have grown. This means the meds he is currently taking are no longer working.

So what's next?  

We will start an immunotherapy on Friday.  It is once every three weeks for only 4 rounds. Immunotherapy takes time to work. So we won't scan again for at least 15 weeks from now.  If things are stable at that scan then we will just scan again a few months later and continue this process. However, if the scan shows growth we will switch to an ongoing immunotheraphy treatment. The nice thing about immunotherapy are that is won't make Brian weak. He will be able to live like normal. No risk of low blood counts


Although this isn't the news we were hoping for we know there is hope in the immunotherapy so we will hang on to that!  We continue to feel loved and supported and are so thankful for our community that has never once stopped pouring out support over the last 20 months that we have been going through this all. We love you!