Carb-Free

(Carboplatin, that is!)

MRI results were great! My doctor is very pleased, and she decided that I could stop taking Carboplatin. However, rather than going cold turkey with the chemotherapy altogether, she is leaving me on Avastin for six more months, and then if things stay good she will let that treatment go, too.

I'm naturally very relieved and grateful that things went this well, and I appreciate the prayers that not only helped bring about this result, but also helped me be calm and unafraid.

This opens up a new world for me in some ways. On the good side, I don't have to worry about my white blood cells crashing anymore (the Carboplatin did that). But I do have to keep monitoring my platelet levels and kidney function, and I have to be on guard for stroke (which has happened to patients). I'm also allergic to Avastin, so I'll still be taking a lot of Benadryl on treatment weeks.

My infusion and monitoring schedules will remain the same (labwork every week, Avastin infusion every two weeks, neuro test every four weeks, and MRI every eight weeks), but instead of alternating short and long infusions I will have the same 45-minute infusion each time.

The next MRI will be a nervous one, because it will be the first one following the switch to "maintenance". But, hey -- it's better than dealing with tumor progression and waiting to see whether it responds to treatment. And we have a game plan: if the next MRI has any funny business on it, they may just add Carboplatin or another drug back into my treatment.

Meanwhile, I get to celebrate that I'm not only alive longer than predicted, but my brain also looks better than it did a year ago.