Good News and Bad News and Good News

In all honesty I was pretty nervous about the results of Wednesday's MRI of the brain. I was worried about being told that the radiation treatment did not work and there was no other treatments now available.

But fortunately that was not the case.

Yesterday afternoon we did receive the results of the MRI. It was both good and bad.

First the good, the tumor in the brain that was treated had completely disappeared. Kidney cancer tumors do not always respond to radiation. They are tough. So this was good to hear.

The bad news though, was that three new tumors had appeared in the brain. They are all very small tumors though, one is two millimeters, the other two are only one millimeters in size.

The good news is that the new tumors can be treated via the Gamma Knife again.

All in all, I'm feeling good about the results.

I certainly was hoping for a clean MRI without any evidence of further disease. But I had a feeling that something was going to show up, based on how I've been feeling the past couple weeks.

My concern was that further treatment would not be possible. So I was very happy to hear that what was found was small, and treatable. That alone gave me a sigh of relief.

The continued spreading of the cancer is certainly problematic. I can only hope that the chemo Sutent can continue to keep the cancer in check for an extended period of time. Since December the cancer has certainly been aggressive. I'm hoping for a little remission.

Tuesday Barb and I will meet with the neurosurgeon and we'll be bringing a laundry list of questions with us. Through my experience I've learned that surgeons are not the best at interacting with patients. Let's face it, most of the patients they see are under anesthesia. But the knowledge is certainly inside him. It just has to be drawn out.

I'm sure Tuesday another Gamma Knife session will be scheduled. It's not a walk in the park. But by now I've been through just about everything. I just take this stuff in stride now.

My faith is strong. My desire to continue this long fight against this crippling cancer is still strong. The reality to me is that life is fragile for everyone. None of us know what tomorrow will bring. We just can make the most of today, the most of the moment.

Does that mean eating lobster tail everyday? Not to me it doesn't. To me it means not wasting time on trivial or petty things, being positive and supportive and a good influence to all around me, completely avoiding any negativity or conflict that may come my way.

As I said to Barb yesterday, this struggle has been a series of good news and bad news and good news and bad news. We just continue to do the best we can, take whatever life deals us, and make the most of it.

The fight goes on.