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Rob’s recent blog entry inadvertently triggered an avalanche of wonderful emails, and we thank everyone who wrote. More than once, I’ve caught him with tears in his eyes as he contemplates the wonderful words and sentiments expressed. It’s an emotional time, but I’m happy to report that we are still on the roller coaster, with lots of highs and lows, happiness and sorrow, fear and optimism.
Yesterday was a good example. We spent most of the afternoon at Kaiser, meeting with Dr. Liu, then a social worker named Carol, getting a flu shot, and picking up more drugs. The news was mixed.
Getting the bad news out of the way first, the brain MRI found a few small spots of cancer in Rob’s brain, though we have caught them at what appears to be an early stage. This is not uncommon in lung cancer, and the drugs, including criz do not readily cross the blood/brain barrier, so some type of radiation treatment is the norm. We’re now waiting to see if it is feasible to ‘Cyberknife’ (an advanced non-invasive robotic radiosurgery process) these spots, or if ‘whole brain’ radiation is necessary. The latter is a longer and harsher treatment that involves hair and memory loss, and is an option that frankly may not be worth it. Rob has no symptoms from the brain metastases (mets) yet (headaches, blurred vision, slurred speech), and we are hoping the Cyberknife option works out.
For the good news — Rob is showing more signs that the criz is having a positive impact. He seems to have a little more energy every day, and he’s also more mentally alert. His blood counts are completely normal and the liver function tests are better although still well above normal — but the trend is in the right direction. Rob’s blood oxygen level has improved enough that Dr. Liu recommends spending less time hooked to the ‘iron lung’, and his cough is almost completely gone except at the end of the day or when he is especially tired. On the whole, Dr. Liu thinks Rob is doing better than he was two weeks ago before he started criz.
That’s all for now. Marge and Marnie will be here later today — time to be a good daughter/sister-in-law and clean up the house!
