Brain MRI - Good news & Bad news

I got the results today from the Brain MRI I had done last week. I haven't had any symptoms, so I was hoping to hear it was a clean scan and get some peace of mind. The good news is that the MRI didn't detect any metastases to my brain ... whew! But my oncologist said it did show a small spot on my pituitary gland, which he says is not malignant. I've done a bit of googling today, and what I've found is that most pituitary adenomas (tumors) are benign. My oncologist said it would highly unusual for breast cancer to metastasize to the pituitary gland, so I feel confident that this is not cancer. I will have a follow-up MRI of my pituitary gland tomorrow and then I will be referred to either an endocrinologist or a radiation oncologist. My oncologist said it was serendipitous that we found this. Most people discover pituitary tumors because they either have headaches or vision problems from the tumor pressing on their optic nerve or hormone problems, as many pituitary tumors secrete one or more of the hormones controlled by the pituitary gland. So, even though this is one more thing that I have to deal with (and I feel like I've got more than enough on my plate at the moment!), I think I can consider myself lucky to have found it early. And I hope that means it will be easy to treat, but I'll find out more about that after I have some more tests run. Alan has been out of town the past three days on a business trip and was unable to be with me at my appointment today, so I'm attempting my first post to the blog. Don't worry ... he (and his much more eloquent posts) will return!
-Sarah

15 March - Taxotere Works!

We got the MRI results today and it showed a 30% reduction in Sarah's liver mets. We were sooo relieved! Finally we've got a drug treatment that is helping dial the clock back on this thing. Sarah is taking a one week break from treatment this week as she lets her nose heal up and liver recover a bit (she's been having minor nose bleeds due to the Taxotere) and then she'll continue the weekly Taxotere treatments until the liver spots are gone. That could take a while, but now things are moving in the right direction. She'll also get a brain MRI and a heart scan next week just to make sure everything else is ok, but there is no reason to suspect that those scans will find any issue at this point. Cancer is so unpredictable... but today we are claiming a victory and are happy that we've found something to fight back with!

One car did well... and the other is in bad shape

Ben and I did our first Pine Wood Derby last weekend - he helped quite a bit in making the car and was very proud when we made the top 10. We actually did much better than I expected in the races!
Unfortunately, the very next day I slipped on some ice in our real car on the way home from work! The car spun once or twice and ran in to the guard rail - not sure if it will be fixable & I'll find out from the insurance over the next few days. I thankfully didn't get a scratch and there were no other cars involved.
Sarah got her sixth treatment this past Thursday and the MRI is on for next Monday. We'll get the results on Thursday - as usual it will be a tough few days of waiting.

4 March - Sam's Birthday

Well, Sam had a fun birthday! He dressed up in a really cute giraffe costume at his party and even managed to blow out all the candles on his Cars cake. His party was at a kid's play place and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The last picture shows him in a cowboy dress-up outfit that Sarah got him and he really liked that, too. It came with a treasure map which Ben was helping Sam read.
Sarah's doing ok & will get the MRI done after next week's treatment. So, we'll get the results on Thursday after next. The lower CEA value is a good sign, but we are still anxious about this test. So far she's tolerating the Taxotere ok and is surprised that she hasn't lost much hair.

1 March - Taxotere #5 and Good News

Sarah did Taxotere treatment #5 today. After the next one we'll get her MRI done to see whether this treatment is helping. We did get a glimmer of hope today after receiving the results of her tumor marker test - her CEA went from 17 down to 5.5 (normal is <2.5), so this gives us some reason to face the MRI with additional optimism. Sarah still feels fatigued most of the time and the chemo pre-meds (steroids) which prevent allergic reactions to the Taxotere also keep her from sleeping - so she's tired a lot.