Now What

Today I sit here a little more tired than usual. I have tolerated my treatments SO very well, and for that I am really excited and grateful. But right now is a time of healing from yesterday's "boost", which was actually a stereotactic radiosurgical procedure. It's supposedly even more precise than gamma knife surgery. It was a little more intense than I expected, and while it was all very good, I am going through a recovery stage where I have to pamper myself more than usual (oh, darn).

Also, as the big ZAPS were going through my head, I figured I was probably turning into some kind of super-hero. Luckily there wasn't some kind of insect crawling through the radiation room, or I'd be Ant Woman, Roach Girl, or something like that. Maybe I get to choose my super powers. What would I choose?

1. Enhanced cancer-fighting ability, of course!
2. Enhanced calorie burning ability (especially since clog dancing is probably out for a while during my recovery, and girl scouts are out in full force with their cookies!)
3. Mrs. Multi-Task (able to bring home the bacon, fry it up in the pan, etc.)
4. Super Mom (my personal favorite - able to teach my son to read AND motivate him to stop sucking his thumb; throw the birthday party of a lifetime for him on Saturday, help my daughter start walking, and make sure they always know they are loved)
5. Blogger Girl (able to post faster and better)
6. Captain Clean-o (no clutter can withstand me; energy to keep things organized)
7. Good Humor Girl (able to laugh at anything that comes my way...oh, and I guess able to eat ice cream with that enhanced calorie burning ability)

...or anything that lets me wear cool stuff, especially if my cankles will finally fit into a cute boot.

Okay, so here's what's next...

I rest from treatment until April 5th. Meanwhile, I start tapering off the steroids (carefully this time, to avoid painful swelling and depression). On April 5th I have an MRI (and will beg for lots of prayers again), and I take the films to my neuro-oncologist, where she will read them and tell me how things are going. My radiation oncologist also wants to see the films, so I will visit him as well. If everything is okay, I start my maintenance regimen of chemotherapy. Five days a month of high dose Temodar, with weekly blood tests, monthly doctor visits, and an MRI scan every other month. At least while things remain status quo. If something new pops up, we decide how to treat it based on size, location, and clinical effect.

By the way, a word about my MRI last week. It did look "good", and I got some clarification about that. The "area of concern" that my neurosurgeon saw on my MRI in January (as he and the radiation oncologist were planning my treatment) looks exactly the same on this latest scan. Meaning, whatever it is did not progress. Hopefully whatever it is, is dead. Considering the fact that glioblastoma is aggressive enough to double in size every three weeks, the fact that the recent scan looks like the baseline scan (from six weeks ago) is good news. The doctor even commented that it may continue to show up in future scans but might simply be necrosis (dead tissue). I like the idea of a dead tumor. Let's hope. But last week was indeed an accurate and reassuring scan, just as I had prayed for (and many of you joined me in that prayer, and I thank you for it).