Doctor, Doctor Give Me The News

 Robert Palmer - Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)

I am extremely happy to report that I received one of the best scans I've seen in a while! Everything dropped but one lymph node in my neck; it is bigger, but barely. Here is a comparison of the last two PET scans:

Description/Location	8/28/2020 PET	6/29/2020 - CT/PET
Left supraclavicular bulky adenopathy	1.8 x 2.4 Max SUV  9.3	1.8 x 2.5 suv max 8.1
Liver #1	1.6 x 1.6 Max SUV 12.4	1.4 x 2.5 cm max suv 15.4
Liver #2 (lateral left hepatic lobe)	0.9 x 1.1 Max SUV  5.7	1.1 x 1.2 max suv 7.5
New porta hepatis node right upper abdomen	1.1 x 1.9 cm, max suv 20.2	1.5 x 2x2. max suv 29.8
Right Axillary node (Abdomen and Pelvis)
Right subpectoral		0.7 x 1.1 cm, max suv 10.2
Preval node right upper abdomen		mas suv 14.0
New bilateral metabolically active axillary and internal mammary lymph nodes
New metabolically active cardiophrenic lymph node
Anterior mediastinal lymph node	0.7 x 0.8 cm, max suv 3.4	1.4 x 0.9 cm, max suv 5.3
Aortopulmonary window lymph node	0.6 x 1.2 cm, max suv 3.5	1.1 x 1.3 cm, max suv 4.9

 PET/CT IMPRESSION: 1. All but one area of lymph node metastases show improvement. The one exception is left supraclavicular metastasis, which shows focal progression. 2. Treatment response in hepatic metastases. 3. Partially groundglass opacity in the left lung shows improvement compared to the prior exam. This may represent a pulmonary metastasis with treatment response.  NOTE: All previous pet results are in older posts.

Now, before you ask too many questions, let me just say that every radiologist reports findings a different way, using different names. Is it confusing? Hello? It's Crazy!! Even Dr. Kocs says that there are times it is difficult to determine what they are saying. So the items that are showing as blank? They were reported in previous scans using the descriptions noted, but could they be something reported before with a different description? Very possible. So I did the best I could to match up tumors by previous measurements. What is clearly obvious is I have a lot of tumors. For those new to the blog, I had bad news in February, then again in May when we started really watching the tumor markers, and then again in June when the treatment quit working. Note: A May PET showed some shrinkage. But couple that test with tumor markers and something is up. Tumor markers tipped us off this last time. So to see everything shrinking is great! To top it off, my tumor markers are going down too:   

	Range	28-Aug	24-Jul	19-Jun	5-Jun	22-May	8-May	10-Apr
CA 15-3	0 - 32.4	26.1	37.8	42.5		29.7	25.5	20.7
CA 27-29	0 - 38.6	47.4	75.2	90.3	69.3	61.8	62.8	46.2

It's been a great week!

I met with Dr. Kocs to discuss test results before beginning cycle 4. He walks in:

Dr. Kocs: You!

Me: Me!

Dr. Kocs: I'm smiling under my mask!

Me: I've very happy!

Dr. Kocs: You deserve this ...

Dr. Kocs told me he used me as an example today, not by name, of course. Another patient was having similar luck and he recommended Erubilin, then gave her the reader's digest version on my former treatment success (not), but with the new chemo, we are seeing the best results we've seen in a long time. 

So now what? We stay the course. I finish two more cycles, then another PET on 10/9. 

Chemo was uneventful. The nurse took my labs from my port (save the veins!). I danced while waiting for the lab results before they would release the chemo, then got more wiggles in during steroids. I'd say 30 to 40 minutes today. I didn't really let loose too much cuz there was a very ill woman near me; I don't know if she could handle the pep in my step or my flailing arms, so I toned it down. I considered not dancing at all ... but only for a second. Of course I have to dance! It's chemo day!!

To make my day even better, my neighbor friend brings me my surprise pumpkin scentsy gift. I get a new plugin, a great new scent, and some Halloween goodies as a bonus! If you are a scentsy fan and need some, I'll hook you up with my friend.

Life is good! I am a happy girl! The only thing that could make it better is extended time with my family. For now, quick hugs, telephone calls, texts, video chats, and virtual cooking will have to do. 

Have a blessed weekend, everyone! Be kind! Try to put a smile on someone's face every day, even if that someone is you 😊