Hi everyone, this is Eric writing for Renee.
There’s been a lot of people asking how Renee is, and we
thought that updating this blog is probably the best way to get the information
out there.
Renee has been having a lot of up and downs lately, but the
constant has been a very heavy fatigue and headaches. She can’t really focus very long, and staring
at a computer screen to type really hurts her head. She sends her regrets on not being able to talk,
write or be around for everyone, but appreciates all the well wishes, thoughts
and prayers.
The past week or two we have been very worried that there
was more tumor growth due to all the issues she was having. But then she had a MRI
on Friday Dec 27th, and then we met with the Neuro-Oncologist on
Monday the 30th.
Prayers were answered, and the latest MRI shows that the
swelling is coming down, and there’s nothing that indicates an active tumor. The most likely thing is necrosis from the
surgeries and the multiple radiation treatments to the same area. It seems strange to us that it would show up
as symptoms so long after the actual treatments, but we will take necrosis over
tumor any day.
That being said, it still doesn’t explain why Renee is
feeling so bad still, or how to give her any relief. The only thing that seems to help her for now
is lots of rest while her body heals.
The current plan is that since the swelling seems to be
going down, she’s on a taper to get off the steroids, which hopefully will help
with some of the fatigue.
Renee had a PET scan planned for before Christmas, but the machine broke a half hour before she was scheduled. So, now she has a PET scan over her whole body on Thursday to make sure
she’s still clean everywhere else, and then we’ll meet with her regular Oncologist
on Friday.
Assuming that her PET is clear, and that she’s not improved
from being off the steroids, there’s still the possibility of being on Avastin
to help with the inflammation in her brain. It would be a IV drip for her, but no side
effects that would make her feel worse than she does.
In the meantime, she’s still on her oral chemo, as well as
pain & nausea meds to keep everything in check. Her spirits are up and down, but with the MRI
news we’re all a lot more hopeful about turning a corner soon. More than anything, she’s just tired of
feeling tired & hurting, and ready to get back to feeling like herself.
We’ll update things here as we get more information, and
thank everyone again for the thoughts and prayers.
We wish everyone a happy new year and may 2014 find you and
yours with an abundance of Joy and Love throughout the year.
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