Tumor Sizes

The Rad/Onc gave me copies of my MRI yesterday and the 3 brain tumors are very small.... 8.5 mm, 8 mm, and 6 mm. I was so glad to see them smaller than 1 cm.. it gave me some comfort that they are tiny.

The Decadron is causing dry mouth and my blood sugar to rise (need to call Primary to adjust my insulin), but other than that not much to report... only 2 WBR so far... #3 today. They say the hair will fall out in 2 weeks and that should be right on Christmas.. great gift. But we do what we have to do.

15 treatmens in all and I hope they continue to be as uneventful.... I can always hope..

Hugs,
Janelle

[Alicia]

Janelle,
It is great that your tumors are so small! I hope you have an easy time of the WBR...hang in there!!!! I hope they shrink to nothing for ya!!! I finished mine on Nov 2 and feel really good. Some days I feel tired and a little nauseas but other than that I feel great!!!! My hair did fall out but seems to be attempting some regrowth... I'll be interested to see how much grows back...my friends mom got a whole head of hair back... so that is what I am hoping for for xmas this year!!!! All I want for Christmas is my hair to grow back....tee hee!

Alicia,
Wow the hair grew back.. that is something that I was not expecting.. wouldn't that be wonderful!!!! Thanks for the encouragement... means a lot to me.

Hugs,
janelle

3 down, 12 to go!

Hi Ladies,
My sister's hair has started to grow back. She had WBR during the summer, but followed by Taxol. Now that she's off the Taxol and onto Navelbine, she's got some "peach fuzz"...it's just the beginning, but it's something!
Great news on your tumor sizes, Janelle...it's certainly looks good for you!!

Celina,
Thanks for the insight.. maybe all is not lost with the hair.. I know that shouldn't be the focus of my feeble brain.. but to loose it forever is so hard to bear... but hopefully I can get some peachfuzz too!

Hugs,
janelle

Reassuring news indeed. I hope for more to come and a good response to treatment.
Regards
Vicki

Janelle,
SO glad to hear they're small. I'm requesting that my onc bring up my case at Friday's tumor board meeting. I've been having low grade headaches in a couple of places, and don't want to miss an opportunity for Cyberknife if I need it. My brain MRI only a few weeks ago showed nothing, but my cancer seems to move faster than scans. We'll see.

Also, next week I'll be going to a new office for treatment. After 15 years in business, my onc had to quit his private practice. Insurance/Medicare cuts were killing him. He's joined a joint practice with offices throughout the Denver/Boulder area. Instead of a nice little treatment room with a bed/quilt/lounger, I'll be in a big infusion room with no privacy. Yuck!

My head is starting to see some fuzz. But not everywhere. A fellow patient just had her grow back in a Nike swoop and a reverse Mohawk. Somebody has a sense of humor!

Healing light and love,

Lisa

Good new they are small- I had 15 sessions of WBR in Sept of 2003- for 6 tumors (called them "the dirty half dozen" Dont know if you have heard of the move "The Dirty Dozen") I called it my "Blue light special" as there was a little beam of blue light with each session- I also loved the mask they used (not!) Called that my Hannibal Lector mask (from Silence of the Lambs) For some reason it reminded me of that. I got through all sessions and other than fatigue had no real side effects. I have been on Decadron ever since and have tried to taper off and I think I finally am going to be able to do it. I also lost my hair and it grew back like a reverse Mohawk! For some reason the middle top portion grew back very sparsely . So I have to always wear a hat or wig but that is a small price to pay. I had a follow up CT done in Apirl of this year and found 3 small tumors left over so I had cyberknife done. That obliterated one and shrunk to other two.
One grew just a tiny tiny bit (not enough for my rad onc to be concerned)
The good thing is with Cyberknife it can be done numerous time vs WBR which is a one time deal. It also works on the tumors themselves and not the entire brain. Less damage that way.
Good luck with your treatment! God Bless.. PattyD

Janelle, I will keep you in my prayers that those tumors will totally be wiped out. I go for my MRI January 3rd and hope there are no brain mets lurking around. God bless you! and thanks for giving us an update on Mary. I sent her another card at the hospital.

I recurred a month ago with 3 lymph nodes and a small spot on my lung. A routine MRI showed a 5mm tumor on the brain with 2 unidentifiable spots too small to detect whether they were a problem or just vessels. Last Thursday, I had Novalis radiation to the tumor and supposedly it will dissolve within 3 months. I will have another MRI in 6 weeks to see if I am clear and I certainly will be praying then. I had considered WBR but decided to do this instead. It was really a breeze and I could do it again if anything else controlable shows up.
Mickey

[Isabelle]

Good luck Janelle. I am glad you got some encouraging news.

Isabelle

Janelle,

I have been gone the last week, I just want to tell you how awesome you are. You are a great friend to Mary and Mike and in letting us know her progress.

Now you need some TLC and I was wondering if there is anything we can do from here for you? Is there anyone who can keep us informed about your progress? From experience, Velva and Lisa got too tired to post and then we all worry. I hope someone can keep us updated. Know that you are in my daily prayers Janelle, Your remarkable.

Take Care of yourself. LOL k

Dear Janelle,
We are truly sorry to hear of your latest re-occurance. You have been so active helping others in our group.....this just doesn't seem fair. We know you will beat this please stay onnected so we can all send healing vibes your way. Have you looked into the Allos trial?
Stay strong,
Al and Linda