Good MRI six months from dx

connsteele
connsteele Member Posts: 232
in Brain Cancer #1
Our son (partial resection on 4-13-11, dx AA3, age 34) had an MRI yesterday. I was so glad that we got the results right away. At Ohio State, Dr. Caveliere always schedules the MRI the same day, previous to appointment time. He wants to look at the scans himself, then discuss the results with patients that day. I like that. No waiting for one week. David's MRI was better than I had expected: The main tumor in his cerebellum had shrunk about 20 percent. He also had several small "infiltrative" ones, about the size of grains of rice, on the right side of the cerebellum, and they have virtually disappeared. This scan was compared to the one he had in Virginia (before we had to move him home with us in Ohio). That one was performed just three weeks after radiation was done, and it showed mixed results, with some shrinkage but two new "flares" that the VA doc said could be tumor progression or lingering effects of the radiation. It was too early to tell.

So, we are of course thankful with this latest results. Back here in Ohio, he has completed his second 5/28 Temodar and now will start the third, this time his NO is bumping up the dose.

I think it is interesting to see the difference in communication styles and outlooks of the different NOs he has had. Both the radiation doc and chemo doc in Virginia (INOVA hospital network) seemed so much more pessimistic. They said that even though the dx is AA3, it was acting like a grade 4 and that he will be on treatment from now on, that treatment won't make "it" go away. Contrast that to his NO here at OSU, who is much more optimistic. When I told Dr. Caveliere what the VA docs said, he couldn't really say why they said that, but he doesn't make projections as everyone's case if different. But he still thinks it's a AA3, so I'll take that. Dr. C even said there is a chance, if things continue in this same direction, that David may be able to get breaks from chemo.

Sometimes I wish we could take a tape recorder, into all the appointments we have had, and will have, with the NOs. Then play them back. Years ago, I had tried that with a doc and it was a big "no."

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