Thompson's Hope For Calcification
Hey guys it has been two months since the last update and last scan. I had a new scan earlier this week after being on Chemo for 4 cycles (4 months). Lets just start by saying that I am handling the Chemo very well. Having read horror stories on the affects of the Temodar alone I knew that my diet and lifestyle will have to change to overcome or at least stand a chance through the cycles. I am still on my juicing kick and in the gym pretty much everyday. As far as my scan goes my oncologist did not notice any growth or any regression either. So with the size of the tumor we are still in the same boat as the last two month scan. Here is what is going down: My next MRI in two months will be a perfusion MRI. This will check the blood flow to the site. Doctor told us on Wed that the Ependymoma's don't usually 100% disappear, they will shrink to a small size and then calcify. If the perfusion scan shows heavy blood flow to the tumor site then we will continue more rounds of chemo to keep trying to reduce the size. If there is little to no blood flow showing on the scan then he thinks its safe to say that the tumor has calcified and has no chance of growing or spreading which will increase a positive prognosis. The only issue with the calcification of the tumor is that if it doesn't decrease in size then the calcified tumor will still be giving me the neurological issues that affect my day to day, balance, vision, fine motor on the right side ect. With that being said we would be looking at another surgery to remove the calcified tumor once the scar tissue has fully healed. So lets keep the support and positive thoughts coming that the chemo can knock the tumor size down over the next two months to where the neurological affects are so minimal that surgery is not needed.