bedambedam
bendamron's Cancer Blog
March 14, 2008
| FULL OF FURY #4 & CT SCAN | Views: 216 |
the past three weeks was not a fluke, nor a coincidence, a cover-up, or mirage. the minute dr. otero walked in, we knew that some goodness was on its way. his presence has always been warm and confident, and this time was no different. when he delivered the news, smiles were plastered onto our faces, but held off complete celebration until later. so the folfiri, 5fu, avastin and the cetuximab are indeed working! the ct scan proved it. the cancer in angel’s lungs have decreased. (new scans were compared with ones that were taken about seven weeks ago) the largest tumor was 1.1” x .8”, today it was .8” x .39”. the smaller tumors that were previously .35” or smaller have decreased and/or barely visible and without new ones present! then the lymph node in the middle of her abdomen decreased to .5” x .35” which were previously .74” x .55”. the folfiri and the 5fu pouch are responsible for killing off the tumors and the two monoclonal antibody medicines of avastin and cetuximab hold tumors at bay by suffocating their food source which played their role by keeping the tumors on her liver a steady constant. of course we all wanted to hear that these were shrinking as well, but wonderful nonetheless since they have not grown any further or new ones have not formed either. the liver is such a big and complex organ, it will need many more treatments to see any visible changes, but we are all optimistic. today was only the fourth treatment with the folfiri anyways, so we are hoping for better things to come. also, the fluid in her lung sac has diminished altogether, and dr. otero did say that the size of the liver overall looked slightly smaller. this is a great start, and we all know there is so much more fighting ahead, but we’ll happily take any victory great or small.
we are all so happy, and i can visualize your smiles as i’m typing away. so many good things have happened already in the past three weeks, a lot of hard work has finally paid off! i’ve complained so many times about how angel needs a break, and now she has had some, and we celebrate every one of them joyously. she’s so strong, and managing her new temporary new life so well. she is an intellect, and wise beyond her years, and i suppose these are major attributes that are helping her along the way.
on other notes, this morning after her ct scan, she was hungry as all hell, so we headed to the cafeteria where she ordered up a plate full of food. the man serving her said, “i don’t think i could even eat that much!” she had an english muffin, scrambled eggs, hashbrowns and bacon! (isn’t this the classic grandslam breakfast at dennys? ;) she told the man that she has chemo today, and she needs all the energy she can get. i felt kinda like a vulture waiting for the pickings i thought would be plenty, but i was so wrong. she managed to finish it all! that’s my girl. deneen and toni were with us as well, and we were laughing our butts off at the expense of angel, but she was on top of her game giving it right back at us. as we got up to leave, angel remarked at another table who she thought was staring at her, and bellowed out, “what are you staring at? my oxygen?” totally not cool, and a lot like the way she drives in traffic with zero tolerance, but funny as hell.
i am ready for a mellow night of doing absolutely nothing and just be while angel and toni watch crazy sexy cancer…thank you sarah shin, it just arrived!
06.22.08 - 
Thanks for your support -