Hello, all! It's been a while since I've posted, but in a nutshell, it has all continued to get better and better. Thank you, God! ♥️ (If you want more than just a nutshell... please read on. 😄 )

 

So, let's start back in November 2023 when I last mentioned that a white dot on the opposite side of my brain was called out to watch closely. Instead of 8 weeks between my MRIs like it had been for the previous year, Dr. Sener had me do another just 4 weeks later to watch if anything was growing. 

 

After MRIs, your results can come in pretty quickly through the Mayo app, but totally in "doctor language" which has been quite the journey to try and interpret, haha. (Shayla, I'm so grateful you help us comprehend the results before each meeting with my doctor!) Written a bit differently for each MRI, they write a high-level overall statement for what they've seen. My November 2023 MRI began with "1. No findings to suggest progression of treated left temporal astrocytoma," which gratefully was common to read.

 

However, being that there was a slight concern with that white dot I mentioned in my previous post, here's what we read prior to our meeting with Dr. Sener which made us a little nervous, "2. New small focus of nonspecific FLAIR/T2 hyperintensity within the right frontal cortex should be monitored closely on subsequent surveillance examinations." Comprehending that without a medical background can easily go right over your head. That second statement is what Dr. Sener was also able to see and review the scans himself. (Note that the radiologist also had compared this white dot finding to three prior MRIs.) Thankfully, these doctors are straightforward with current statuses and we were able to understand why my next MRI was scheduled within four weeks. Dr. Sener did mention it might be nothing, but it is great to follow it along to be safe if we noticed a change.

December 2023
My next MRI was mid-December, and that white dot couldn't even be found. A couple quotes from my doctor's notes are, "On today's study, the area is less conspicuous," and "Imaging from today is very reassuring." Pretty quickly when we got into my visit with Dr. Sener, he was quite positive with not seeing anything change, and even less ability to view the white dot (if at all). With no concern but still monitoring it closely, I graduated back to 8 weeks! I was so grateful to have seen this prior to our Christmas family fun times, other than wondering what it could be. If you only knew how many brain images I get in each MRI, they can only be off by millimeters from one MRI to the next. Knowing so, it could have just been some radiation from that angle of my MRI, or just some tiny scar tissue that is actually just generally somewhat common for everyone as we age. Either of those weren't a big concern, but something Dr. Sener would keep tracking for me just to be sure.

This MRI was 8 weeks later, and there was still no concern! No ability at this point to see that right-side white dot on those scans, and my doctor (again!) referenced the left side of my brain MRI (previous tumor area) to somehow be even cleaner! I was actually able to downgrade on more of my medications again, too. To handle it well, I did it slowly between AM and PM doses with a subtle change every two weeks for about a month and a half. That timeline led me right into...

 

My latest appointment: April 2024! 

Another blessing! "Stable exam without findings to suggest disease progression," was the wonderful sneak peek we got prior to meeting with my doctor. Had that white dot on the right side been a tumor, it would have been showing growth by now being that it'd be faster at Stage 4. So, in a full circle from previous post, I'm back into a clean brain status!

 

My next MRI will be 8 weeks after April's, and depending on how well that one goes, I might "graduate" up to every 12 weeks. Sounds pretty great when thinking of my journey, but it's still a reminder of how serious of an event this has been, so my doctor said I'll probably ride out 12 weeks max for quite a while. Hearing him mention it like this makes me even more grateful for how "easy" this recovery has been. Thank you, Jesus! ❤️

 

And again, thank you all for everything!

-Taryn