Not To Be a Bummer, But...

After a number of confused conversations in the aftermath of the previous posting, Karen and I have decided that we needed to make a bit of a clarification about her current condition.

First off, she's clearly doing much better than she has in quite a long time. And her recent PET scan was stellar, with essentially no evidence of disease. That, too, is pretty awesome. But unfortunately this does not mean she is in remission or cured or really even cancer-free. The Zykadia is doing pretty much just what the crizotinib did starting 22 months ago: it is stomping the cancer flat and tremendously improving her quality of life.

But the bottom line is that this treatment, like all that have preceded it and those that will follow, is only buying her time and will not eradicate the disease and return her to a normal life. Eventually the cancer's exuberant embrace of Darwinism will lead us to a point where it adapts, stops responding to the medication, and reasserts itself. The odds are that at some point in 2015 life is going to get extremely interesting in all the wrong ways.

I sincerely apologize if my earlier post led anyone to believe that something near miraculous had occurred here. And I'm just as regretful if this clarification comes as a rude surprise to anyone, as well. I will endeavor to be clearer going forward.

Substantial and Gratifying

During our time in Cancer Club, we've consistently had to wrap our heads around the brittle and dry terminology of all the various test reports. Blood tests, MRIs, PET scans, and more, all presented to us in a very professional, clipped and to-the-point manner. It's a weird, very distanced way to receive news that tends to be literally life and death.

So when we got the report from Karen's PET scan from this past Monday, we were struck by the comparatively effusive language it used. "Substantial and gratifying response to therapy." And it goes on from that relatively gushy beginning to explain that there is essentially no cancer currently taking up space inside Karen.

This is about as fantastic a result as we could have hoped for. Two months in with the Zykadia and it is kicking major cancer ass. So the big question--which we are disinclined to ask right now--is how long will it last. But since we AREN'T asking, we're just going to enjoy the relative normalcy we've got going on at the moment. Karen's shoulders and arms continue to hurt pretty much all the time but her energy is better and she's generally feeling quite well. So, hooray and all that.

Quick Note: Karen wants to thank everyone for their kind thoughts and their prayers. She is certain that they have helped her throughout this ordeal. Hellbound infidel that I am, I'm more than a wee bit skeptical that they've really made an impact but I can say that the support they represent and the caring they clearly convey has been a boon to us all and has made the last 22 months infinitely more bearable than we ever thought they'd be.

So thanks! You're awesome!

No really...you are!

Head Games

Not a lot going on here these days which is a good thing because it's when things start getting interesting that they start getting awful as well.

Karen had another MRI on her brainmeat today and the results were excellent. The anomalies noted a month ago have been written off as just that: there has been no growth at those sites and they largely seem to have cleared up. There are a number of factors that can contribute to the less than definitive results we had last month but the bottom line right now is this: Karen's brain is clear right now.

As for the rest of her cancer farm, we'll know more later in the month when she has another PET scan. She seems largely asymptomatic in terms of what we've come to identify as clear cancer signs. So there's not coughing, wheezing, struggling for breath, etc. Her energy is bouncing back some, actually, although the pain in her shoulders and arms is getting worse.

Not much to say beyond that. Allow me to apologize for this post's lack of delightful anecdotes.