Gamma Knife results

Yikes – it’s been almost three weeks since my last blog entry. Not much has happened in those three weeks. I wrote the last entry the day after my second chemo treatment, and there have been almost no issues those whole three weeks.

The only issue worth commenting on has been fatigue. There are days when I feel great and have no desire to take a nap all day. Then there are days when I need to take a nap after just taking a shower and brushing my teeth. It’s kind of crazy because there’s no way to predict when the fatigue is going to hit.

My third chemo treatment was scheduled for tomorrow, but it got moved to March 9 when my second COVID vaccination shot got scheduled for tomorrow.

The main thing I wanted to let you all know about is that I got the results of the January 22nd Gamma Knife procedure. You may recall that one of the things the early scans revealed was a metastatic lesion in my brain. The Gamma Knife procedure used radiation to attack that lesion. Last Monday (February 22nd) I had an MRI of my brain that they compared with the MRI from before the Gamma Knife procedure. The comparison showed that the lesion shrunk from 9mm to 6mm. The doctor explained that that was exactly what was supposed to happen. As long as the lesion shrinks or remains unchanged, there’s no need for concern. They’ll do periodic brain MRIs in the future to hopefully confirm the lesion doesn’t start growing.

Many of you have told me that you’ve been praying for this whole cancer journey I’m on, and I want to sincerely thank you for those prayers! God isn’t a vending machine; we can’t just pray for healing and expect that prayer to be answered in our way and in our time. But God wants us to pray and he hears our prayers. If you’re interested in prayer, I’d encourage you to read Prayer: The Ultimate Conversation by Charles Stanley. My two sisters and my brother and I are doing a chapter-by-chapter study of it, and it’s made a big impact on me.

Comments

  1. healthcareMarch 9, 2021 at 5:17 AM

    Thank you for this blog. That's all I can say. You most definitely have made this blog into something thats eye opening and important. You clearly know so much about the subject, you've covered so many bases. Great stuff from this part of the internet. Again, thank you for this blog. university of memphis school of public health

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Some of you have requested information about Ken Elder’s service.  It will be held Thursday, July 22, 2021, 11 am at Crossings Community Church (in the Chapel) 14600 N. Portland Avenue Oklahoma City, OK 73134 405-755-2227   For information on the livestream or the recording, go to www.crawfordfuneralservice.com Click on Ken’s Picture or name and it will take you to his tribute page.   LIVESTREAM WILL BEGIN AT 10:45 AM ON JULY 22 ND AND RECORDING WILL BE AVAILABLE AFTER LIVESTREAM ENDS. https://vimeo.com/577245464/816086b4df
Read more

Lung Cancer

It started a few months ago with a chronic cough. Then shortness of breath became an issue. Three months or so ago I could play three hours of pickleball without any problems. A couple months later I’d be breathing hard after just one game. X-rays showed nothing concerning. Then, on Tuesday December 15, 2020 I went into a fairly violent coughing spell and coughed up a lot of blood. We (Joanie and I) went to the ER at the hospital where my pulmonologist works. After doing a CT scan of my lungs the ER doctor told us I have lung cancer. The next day I saw my pulmonologist’s PA. She said the CT scan results were “suspicious” for lung cancer but a biopsy would be required to confirm that. She scheduled me for a lung biopsy the following Monday. She also commented that it is extremely rare for a non-smoker like me to develop lung cancer. The following morning (Thursday December 17, 2020) I coughed up more blood. We knew there is an excellent pulmonary oncology team at the Stephenson Ca
Read more

Chemo and Gamma Knife

Image
I had two new experiences this week: my first chemo treatment and a Gamma Knife procedure. The chemo treatment Monday was a piece of cake. Before starting the chemo drugs, they infused me with three anti-nausea drugs. And to minimize the chance of developing peripheral neuropathy, they wrapped my feet in ice packs and had me keep my hands in a tub of ice water during the chemo. So the nausea that so many people dread with chemo never happened. I am, however, having some issues with my lower legs. No numbness or tingling, but a bit like shin splints. Friday was Gamma Knife day, and that was a fascinating experience. It began with an MRI that they compared with the MRI I got on 12/18/2020. The comparison showed that the lesion in my right parietal lobe had grown 20% in those 35 days. Then they moved me from the MRI machine to the Gamma Knife machine, put on some relaxing classical music, and I just laid there for probably 20 minutes. Then it was over. Today my right eyelid is very
Read more