Starting a New Treatment and More Health News

The new treatment is starting today, and it is a long one! I will have to be "in the chair" for nearly 7 hours! So I thought I'd try my hand at some blogging and give an update on the latest news from cancerland. I had been having mild headaches for a few weeks ... didn't think much of them at first, but I started to notice that they were always on the left side of my head, moving from above my eye to the top of my head. I mentioned them to my doctor last week, and because the cancer had progressed in my liver, there was a chance it could have progressed elsewhere (like my brain). So he sent me for an MRI of my brain and pituitary last Thursday.

When I got a message that my doctor had called me at home this morning right before I was to come in for treatment, I knew they had found something. Fortunately, there are no new spots on my brain .... whew! But the tumor on my pituitary has grown considerably since the last scan (three months ago). It is laying on my optic nerve, and although I am not currently having any vision problems, it could cause problems in the future, so I am going to go see a neurosurgeon to discuss medical and surgical options. Although the radiologist's report says that "the marked interval enlargement since 9/2007 is highly suggestive of pituitary metastasis", my doctor assures me that it is "extremely, extremely, extremely unlikely" that it is, due to the fact that it is a solitary tumor and it's been there for at least 9 months with no new brain tumors or lesions developing. I have contacted a neurosurgeon at the University of Chicago (one of the top 10 cancer centers in the US), who specializes in neuro-oncology and pituitary tumors. Seems like I'd be in good hands there ... I am waiting for a call back, but I'm going to have my oncologist call them and see if he can get them to put a rush on it.

I've got about one more hour to kill (good thing they have wifi here!) and then we'll see how hard this treatment is on me. As Alan said before, I will lose my hair again (maybe the third time is the charm?) and fatigue is a given. Muscle aches and possibly neuropathy in my hands and feet. But I'm willing to do whatever it takes. Although the news on the brain MRI wasn't what I was hoping for, it could have been much worse, so I'm counting my blessings. And with the every three weeks schedule, I don't have to come back to the onc's office until next Thursday for blood work. That will be the longest I've gone between visits to the onc since I started back in May ... gotta count the small victories where I can find them, I figure :)