Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Answers

Maura had a great weekend and a very newsy doctor visit on Monday.
She hung out with her friends most of the weekend, going out as much as possible, knowing that next week she'd be feeling pretty lousy again. it was great to see her feeling so well and energetic.
On Monday, the doctor let us know that she was scheduled for chemo to start this Saturday. That's good because most of the bad days will be over by Thanksgiving.
Maura learned that the Heart Scan showed that her heart is in great shape, which means that she can continue to receive chemo. That's good news.
She also learned that her tumors--the ones that were once called "too numerous to count' are now probably countable. In fact, the doctor took a few minutes right then and there to start counting and he only came up with five. Just five. From "too numerous to count " to "count on one hand" in only six months.
He also said not to get worried about the marker tumors (the ones that are tracked from scan to scan--I think I made up that term, but it's a good term) not decreasing much in size this time. He said that as long as they are decreasing at all, that it is good, and that we should remember that a lot of the total tumor mass is dead tumor, not live tumor. He did add, however, that if they were to open her up, they would find more than five--the buggers hide.
That brought up another subject. We now understand that the ultimate goal is for the tumors to get to a point of containment where they are 100% resectable (removable, operable). So now we know what the goal is: surgery to get rid of the last traces of Toby's evil spawn. When we tell you that Maura is scheduled for surgery, that will be great news.

9 comments:

Lydia DeSouza said...

cut her open! cut her open!!

Anonymous said...

This is incredible news. We will continue to pray for Maura - for her strength and peace through this next treatment. She is so brave and we are all so proud of her. We are also proud of the beautiful family that supports and sustains her through this time. You are all angels in disguise.

Unknown said...

Great news! God is goood! Thank you so much for the update. Can't wait to hear that she'll be scheduled to GET RID OF IT ALL!!!! Love Josh and Tam (we echo the comments below as well!)

Jennifer said...

That is good news to hear! Maura continues to stay in our prayers at home and at church. God is certainly good!

Anonymous said...

All I can say is AMEN!! Thank GOD!! Maura is soooo brave and she has a wonderfully strong support system in place headed by a very strong mother. God bless you guys.

Anonymous said...

Faith in God, a wonderful family, and Maura's incredible bravery and strength are an unbeatable combination. Toby is going down!

jucineia said...

great news!can't wait for the operation and termination of all those buggars.thankyou LORD!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Truly amazing and such encouraging news for all of us who are praying for all of you daily. Thanks, Erin for your diligence to keep us informed. So many people ask me about Maura and I am able to tell them the latest. It is a miracle in the works...

Vivaldo said...

Encouraging news! We'll keep on praying...