CT Scan Results

Mark is still in the hospital, but we are grateful. If we had gone home yesterday with the planned dose of hydrocortisone, it would not have been good! The emergency dosage was 150 mg of IV steroids which was reduced to a daily dose of 100 mg. Yesterday (instead of Sunday), Mark was taken off  IV and given hydrocortisone in pill form with the intention of moving to 50 mg a day. However, after 40 mg, he was nauseous and fatigued, so 30 mg more was given. Coming down too fast from the high-dose cortisol doesn’t work for him, so now they will taper more gradually. (Evidently, many patients handle the reduction without a problem.) The plan is for a discharge later today with a higher dose that will be decreased over time. 

Now, for the CT Scan results!! It was done last Friday, the day Mark went to the Emergency Department. Dr. Taylor had not seen the results when he came in to visit at the end of the workday, but he was pretty discouraged. With the infection and increase in bilirubin, he was convinced that neither the targeted nor the T-cell therapies were working. If neither of them was shrinking tumors and a blockage in the liver causing inflammation, the situation was grim. There are simply no other treatment options. Dr. Taylor didn't specifically say that Mark was terminal, but that was the implication! We hung onto the hope that maybe he was wrong!

When the CT report showed up on MyChart Friday night, it didn't seem nearly so bleak, but it's not easy to decipher. We didn't see Dr. Taylor over the weekend, but Monday morning, he was delighted that the report was SO much better than he anticipated! A tumor in the lungs has resolved, the largest tumor in the liver has shrunk, and others have not changed in size. That is fantastic news!! Something is definitely working, and we are hopeful it is the T-cell therapy, as the other can shrink tumors but doesn't eradicate cancer. Unfortunately, we won't know which it is for some time. 

The internists are pretty sure that Mark was suffering from the effects of adrenal insufficiency along with an infection brewing in the lungs. There was no indication of blockage in the liver, although the reason for the bilirubin increase is unclear. It has continued its downward trend. 

We are looking forward to getting the meds right and to going home!!! 

* Yep, we’re going home today!