Hot Hot Hot!

Me mind on fire! 

The results of Karen's PET scan came in yesterday afternoon. Of course, the doctor called while I was out riding my bike so I was not around to ask questions and get things clarified. Karen is a whole lot of very nice things but a rigorous inquisitor of medical info is not one of them. So while we've got some new information, we don't have an especially firm grasp on it.

So the good news is that the cancer does not seem to have grown or spread. It has not re-bloomed and started taking over new or even old territory. That is indeed positive news.

Me soul on fire!

On the other hand, the scan does show "hot spots." I don't know where because no one asked but I'm assuming right now that they are most likely at the same sites where Karen had growths before. As a point of comparison, Karen's PET scans of a few months ago showed no "hot spots." All the sites where there had been activity had gone cool and were not lighting up the scans.

What does this all mean? Well, I won't be able to get a definitive answer until our next appointment on Friday, Sept. 6. Short term, we keep doing what we're doing, i.e. taking the crizotinib and keeping things at bay.

But what are these hot spots and are they are cause for concern? Since I still haven't managed to secure my medical degree (or pass the bar or get my gold medal in women's powerlifting and by that I do indeed mean powerlifting females not barbells) I'm not super-confident about how to characterize these things. What I've been able to glean from the Google Webs, is that they are reflective of potentially cancerous activity (to be 100% certain, a biopsy needs to be done). That said, a biopsy is kind of moot in this case: you need to biopsy more when these things first appear. It's like having a bear break into your cozy mountain cabin and shit on the floor. The first time it happens, you have to test the shit to figure out what did it. The second time, well, you're pretty sure it's just that same asshole of a bear befouling your alpine retreat. You could test the crap again, but do you really need to?

Feeling Hot! Hot! Hot!

So while the cancer has not spread as of 9:30 Thursday morning, the bottom line is that it seems to be revving up again. The hot spot is indicative of something that is metabolically active. This certainly explains why she's been so fatigued: there's a real tug-of-war being waged in her body right now. It also probably means that we are about near the end of this leg of our cancer relay and will be handed the chemo baton sooner rather than later.

STATUS UPDATE

• Karen' latest PET scans show no growth or expansion of her tumors.
• The PET scan does show some "hot spots."
• The hot spots are indicative of metabolic activity. This activity was not present in previous scans.
• For now, we stay the course and treatment does not change.
• Our next oncology appointment is this coming Friday, Sept. 6 and I hope to have clearer if not actually better answers at that time.