CT Scan/Neurosurgeon Consult

Yesterday was perhaps the busiest day that did not involve leaving the house (thank you, thank you to friends who brought food and themselves to visit!) We had three hundred phone calls to make and three hundred more that came in regarding meds, bills, appointments, etc... and in the midst of it all, mom had another focal seizure after not having one in several days. We contacted the doctors, had some of her meds changed, a CT scan ordered for this morning, and an appointment scheduled with her neurosurgeon/neurologist to follow up. Mama Marian has been taking some treacherous dives for the remote, the shampoo, etc... that have landed her on the floor and bruised up and down her right side. She's been experiencing a lot of difficulty with fine motor skills and coordination on her right side, which has led us to find a home health nurse during the days when dad isn't at home.

So, at 7:30 this morning we went with mom to UCONN for her CT scan. After battling with rush hour traffic and wheelchairs, we finished the scan, had breakfast in our beloved UCONN cafeteria we know so well) and went to see Dr. Senatus, her neurosurgeon, at 10am.

Dr. Senatus showed us Mama Marian's CT scan and pointed out the part of the brain that controls her movement on the right side. It had been assaulted by this mass of cloudy stuff that is apparently edema, fluid surrounding the tumor. And, yes, we asked the same question again... is it the tumor growing or is it radiation necrosis, a lovely oozing side effect of the Tomotherapy she underwent for six weeks this past December-January? By the way, that is so aptly named the "eloquent cortex". Dr. Senatus said that, as the radiation and chemo oncologists have said AND the Swedish doc and Waglie Fellow at Dana Farber, we don't know... and it's impossible for us to know with these scans. So, he consulted with the head of his department and they have recommended a CT/PET scan that will take it a step further to help guide her treatment. This involves injecting her with a radionuclide that cancerous cells uptake and can be monitored on the imaging.

If we find out that the "area of enhancement" has increased we may look at going back in for surgery to biopsy and resection the tumor. It would not have to be another awake craniotomy like before, but may involve implanting some kind of wafer or directly applying chemotherapy or radiation to the area. We also asked about Avastin, the drug mentioned at Dana-Farber, and Dr. Senatus promised to talk with some of his connections there, at Harvard, and at Columbia for more information on what might be the best route. Again, we won't know what we're doing or where we're going until we have MORE information.

Dr. Senatus informed us of his work with a doctor onsite who is developing a transgenerated tumor vaccine. He is banking tumor tissue so, of course, mom asked about making a deposit into the bank once we knew she might have to go through surgery again! We shall see...

The CT/PET scan is scheduled for next Thursday at 1pm and then a follow-up appointment with Dr. Senatus that Friday to talk about options for treatment.

Oh, before I go, mom wanted me to let everyone know that she is having a difficult time typing and so has been slow to get back to people via email, etc... She and ALL of us are so, so, so appreciative of all the amazing generosity and genuine kindness of everyone around us over these past few months. Thank you, thank you! :)