Official Results

On Friday we got the official results from the CT scan.  I was very excited to read every little detail.  I was hopeful about what I would read, especially after seeing the scan on Wednesday.  I keep going over and over the picture of the tumor with a big black hole in my mind.  I am thinking of having it framed. ;)

Anyway, the report said that the two nodules that we saw on the last scan were unchanged as were the slightly enlarged lymph nodes.  The lymph nodes do not look diseased so that is good.  The big tumor now measures 8.7 X 8.5 cm, down from 12.8 X 8.6 cm in January.  There is still a slight plueral effusion on the left lung but the right lung is completely clear.  They also noted a slight pericardial effusion.  All of the surrounding organs, including the heart, look normal.  I am not sure about the tumor that was seen in the pericardium in Boston.  They did not find the tumor on the scan, only during surgery.  So, I am not sure if there has been a change in that tumor, I can only hope/assume that there has been. 

So far Trent has done pretty well with Round 23.  He is experiencing the normal fatigue and a bit of pain from the Neupogen shot.  We are trying to make sure he gets pain medicine about an hour before the shot and then head to bed shortly after the shot so he can sleep most of it off.  He has been out of bed and functioning pretty well for the entire afternoon and evening.  Hopefully that is a good sign for what the rest of the round holds for him.

Last week I was visiting a friend who also has cancer and her father told me about a book that he had read about a cancer survivor.  The survivor had interviewed several other Stage IV cancer survivors and found that they all had done similar things.  That prompted him to make a wagon wheel type chart to monitor his wellness in each of eight areas.   I loved the idea of having a visual for us to use to mark Trent's progress and areas that need a little work.  I made our own chart using the following areas: Chemo, Nutrition/Supplements, Sleep, Exercise, Mental/Spiritual, Social, Family (Relationships), and Activities/Hobbies.  Each day we can take a minute to assess each area and give Trent a score between 1-10.  This way he can see for himself what he needs to improve instead of me telling him he has to do something, like exercise.  The goal is to achieve 10's in all areas for balanced wellness.  We'll see how this goes...