Mixed Results

Yesterday, I went for my regular CT scan. I figured I wouldn’t hear results from Stanford until I went in for my cancer treatment next Thursday. 

But this morning as I was preparing to take the girls sledding, I looked down at my ringing phone to see Dr. Fisher’s Caller ID. Pat and I braced ourselves for the news…a personal call this soon couldn’t be good.

Two of my tumors have grown, one has stayed the same and one has shown a significant decrease.  Mixed results. And a real bummer for me, because even though one tumor has decreased, no one likes to hear that two other tumors have grown.

Thankfully, instead of just calling with the results, George worked with his colleagues to make sure he was calling with a plan of action.  

First, we’re going to confirm that the tumor growth is actual cancer growth.  As you may recall, last time I was scanned I was told, “Don’t panic if we see growth.” With all of the chaos that the drug causes it can make the tumor appear to grow right before it begins to go away.  My doctors will biopsy the tumor soon to determine if it is actual cancer growth or just inflammation.

If the biopsy shows actual cancer growth, then George plans to radiate the tumor.  They believe combining my experimental therapy with radiation treatment will stimulate my immune system to fight all of the cancer within my body – not just the tumor being radiated.  In fact, two melanoma patients weren’t seeing any results from the immunotherapy drug but then, when radiation was introduced, witnessed miraculous results – the tumors disappeared completely!  While this theory has never been tested on colon cancer, George thinks I can be a pioneer on this front. He hopes we’ll witness the same miracle in my body, with the goal that my case will someday be cited in papers showing the miraculous effect of PDL-1 in combination with radiation – a new hope for patients with colon cancer.

I told George that I choose to look at all of the good news he provided me today:  there are no new tumors, the existing tumors aren’t in any vital organs, my CEA (cancer indicator in my blood) has remained steady, there was an actual decrease in size of one of the tumors (which means that the drug is working), and they are not recommending pulling me off of the study and going back to chemo (which is the greatest news of all).  

As I hung up the phone, I reminded George that I planned to be around for a very long time, so whatever he needs to do to ensure my longevity – I’m all in.   I could hear his smile over the phone.

Following our long talk with George, Pat and I took a deep breath, turned to our children, my sister and her family (we’re vacationing with them) and declared that it was time to go sledding.  Because this is what this whole journey is all about – learning to savor time with our loved ones and live each day to its fullest. 

As I watched all four kids attempt to ride on one sled, laughing and covered with snow, it occurred to me how very lucky I am. For the past five years while I’ve struggled with cancer, I’ve been surrounded by my loving and supportive family, colleagues and friends. If the biopsy shows that the growth is only inflammation, then all is well. To be honest, whatever the biopsy shows, all is well. 

Happy New Year, Everyone.