The scan Tuesday was pretty much exactly the same as the scan from 4 weeks ago. We are obviously glad that there was no growth, but I must admit to being just a little disappointed that there was no further reduction in size as we had hoped. That said, there are many reasons why stable is a good thing, so we aren’t about to disregard that fact and we are happy about it. Elias was initially upset, mainly because he (and I) had started to get excited about the possibility of him returning to work and getting life a little back to our ‘old normal’ – but with some time for the news to sink in and to think about all the positives of the situation, we are quite comfortable with stable.

When we asked our n-onc (neuro-oncologist) if he was surprised about how fast Elias’ tumour responded previously, he said not really (though he doesn’t seem to be the type to be surprised easily), based on how it responded initially to the temozolomide (the first chemo). He seems to think that his tumour’s ‘m.o.’ is to respond quickly, dramatically, then stop. However, since there was no growth, he decided to keep Elias on the lomustine for two more cycles then scan again though we are considering getting our own scan inbetween again. He also mentioned that with lomustine, because it is harder on your white blood cells and bone marrow, they can typically only use it for 4-6 cycles – and has rarely seen in used for 8. This will be Elias’ 3^rd cycle. The surprise of the meeting was that he said that once we have used up the lomustine, he would consider putting Elias back on temozolomide to see if it may work again. This is actually what the naturopath had wanted anyhow, but based on what the nurse had told us previously, we didn’t think that would be an option (the n-onc hasn’t actually met with us since early August so we usually meet with the nurse). We managed to get a few questions in as he inched towards the door, but eventually he was literally talking to us while standing halfway in the hallway. We understand he’s very busy, but it would still be nice to not feel as if we are an inconvenience or something.

Elias will head back to the naturopathic clinic tomorrow, bring a copy of the scan and hopefully discuss some changes to his treatment. Of course it is discouraging that we tried to get more aggressive with the frequency of the treatment and the tumour didn’t budge, but we know that there are a number of other things that can be added to the treatment to make it more effective, and by no means have we lost any hope in the process. We don’t know at all how this will affect the frequency of the trips in, but while it would be nice if he didn’t have to go in so frequently, we will continue to make it work if that is what is needed.

I’m sure the itch will be bad tomorrow with taking the chemo tonight (that’s when it’s the worst), so we may look into getting a prescription to help – we had put this off with hopes he may not need the treatment as often. We have also been told that peppermint oil is great for relief. Aside from that – and being tired because of not going to bed at a decent time the past few nights – Elias continues to feel good. He’s lost a few pounds in the past 6weeks, but this could also be in large part from cutting sugar from his diet. We continue to be so thankful for all the encouraging words, positive energy, support and offers of help of all kinds. It means the world to us to have everyone behind us and really keeps us going – it makes it much easier to feel so good!

Keep shining!

~C~