Today we met with Dr. Urba to review the results of
the CT Scan done last Friday. Because
Mark has been feeling so much better we were confident that results would be
positive, and they are!!! All tumors in soft tissue are basically gone. There is a mass in the area where the tumor in his adrenal gland was
removed. It is the about the same size
as in the last scan, so while it hasn’t shrunk, it hasn’t grown. Lesions in the bone are harder to tell with a
CT, but they obviously have shrunk since his pain has continued to decrease. Whether there are still live cancer cells
there, we won’t know until Mark has a PET scan in 12 weeks.
Side effects are minimal - just some skin rashes on
his face and ears. Fatigue is the most
common, affecting about 80% of patients.
Back in December and January he was extremely fatigued, but has continued
to gain more and more stamina. It seems that for him, the fatigue is more associated with the
tumors than the medication. Once again, we realize how fortunate we are!
This was his last infusion with Galectin. Infusions will still be every three weeks
with Ketruda only. For how long? Most likely for a full year or possibly
longer, depending on how he responds. At
any point the tumors could become resistant to the drugs and start growing
again, at which point we would try another treatment. They could stop growing, but not
go away. Side effect could kick in and become a deterrent. Of course, our hope is they will DISAPPEAR
and NEVER RETURN!
It was awesome seeing Dr. Urba again! He has become a dear friend. While buying lunch in the cafeteria to take
up to Mark, Dr. Urba saw me and motioned for me come over and insisted that he
pay for our lunch - a kind gesture. Our appointments with
him are always much longer than with the nurse practitioners, as he just likes
to visit. We thoroughly enjoy those
visits which are about every three month.
The next time we see him will be right after the PET scan. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for that
one!
At the first of the year we were gearing up for a
tough go of it, as least for a while, although we always had hope that the
treatment would work. We just didn’t
expect the side effects to be so minor.
Mark is back to full steam ahead.
After 5 hours at the Providence Cancer Center, we bought plants and planted
about half of our garden – no naps and he feels just fine. Well, we’re both tired, but we aren’t young
pups anymore!
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your
faith, prayers, love and support. We
think of so many others who are going through challenges and our hearts go out
to them. Life can certainly be
challenging, but through it all, we can find peace. We just saw this video that we’d like to
share. Go to
Wishing you joy and love this Easter Season,
Mark & Ane
