Happy Spring family and friends! Bring on the warm weather. 

May is Brain Cancer Awareness Month! "Go Gray in May" 

This is a long overdue post and I apologize for that. Let's start with the positive since the last 3/25 update. On 4/24 and 5/1 Dad celebrated his one year anniversary since his craniotomies (brain surgeries to remove the tumor). Mom and dad celebrated each day with some of his favorite food, Busy Corner breakfast and Pizza Ranch. We are beyond thankful he has made it to the 1 year milestone even with all the challenges and obstacles he has endured. 2 surgeries, radiation, chemotherapy, other targeted therapy, so many PT/OT/speech sessions, Optune tumor treating device, and endless caregiving support by mom and friends/family that has carried him (and us) thus far. It's been over a year full of every kind of emotion you can imagine. This journey is all apart of God's master plan and I find hope in that. Mom and dad enjoyed her birthday on 5/4 and Mother's Day together and that was very special for both of them. He is having some left side weakness but is still getting around okay, reading, talking great, but has some confusion every now and again. Some days he has brain fog and difficulty focusing, and recalling shorter term things. 

Dad had his 6 week MRI and follow up office appointment with the neuro-oncologist on 5/8 at Northwestern in Chicago. It was definitely a mix feeling appointment with some unclear imaging results. The left frontal area of the brain (where there was tumor growth discovered earlier this year) looked much better when comparing side by side the March and May imaging. That is the good news; however, the doctor indicated the Avastin treatment has the ability to mask the tumor on imaging so that is the part that is worrisome. The doctor believes it's a mix of tumor reduction and partly it being masked on the MRI. We are praying the chemo has been working and that it's completely disappeared on the left side. Additionally, the MRI showed a section in the middle with progression (about 3 cm when measured), but given the location of the recent growth the neuro-oncologist didn't seem to think there was a direct correlation to the symptoms dad has been recently having. The doctor talked with a neuro surgery colleague and they were in agreement with that assessment. The doctors noted the middle section of the tumor growth is "easily resectable" but they did not feel confident it would improve his symptoms, and of course a third brain surgery has a whole slew of risks and not ideal. The neuro-oncologist believes the symptoms dad is experiencing is "wear and tear" of the tumor and regardless if the tumor is there or not damage has still been done by the tumor. Dad is in this position where some things look better on the MRI, some things look worse on the MRI, but clinically he has declined over the last few weeks so it is a difficult place to be. In this situation, the doctor believes it is reasonable to continue with the third round of chemo and to continue the Avastin treatment every 3 weeks (as long as mom/dad believe this is improving symptoms) because we have partial control of what we want (the tumor to shrink).

Unfortunately, there's no fantastic solution at this point or else we would have done it already. Weighing all aspect when it comes to quality of life the doctor asked dad what he wanted to do. We would all support him with whatever decision he choose and he said he wanted to keep fighting and to continue with further treatment. Last week he took his third round of chemo and received his second Avastin infusion. We will continue to closely monitor his symptoms and the current plan is to have the next MRI and office follow up mid June at Northwestern. In any event if travel is not possible mom and dad have established a relationship with a local oncologist at Illinois Cancer Care in Peoria and will see him as needed. The Peoria and Northwestern oncologists have a good working relationship so that bring us comfort. The more eyes and brains on our team the better in my opinion. 

Each appointment and every scan gets harder and brings more anxiety. We continue to pray for good news and complete healing. Dad says he is not in any pain and I really hope that is true and continues. He's been a trooper from day one and remains positive. Hope is a powerful drug. He says his prayers each night with mom and it's the most touching and precious thing to hear. We will continue to do everything in our power to keep him comfortable, at peace, and safe as he navigates through more treatments and uncertain times.

Please keep dad, mom, and our family in your prayers. Thank you to everyone who has stepped up to help and shown us love during this challenging time.  We appreciate it more than you know. 

Ashley