Sat, 16 Oct 1999 16:10

"Lesions" on spine

Thank you to everyone for your prayers and concern. We were able to talk to the oncologist yesterday for quite a while. He said there are three "lesions" on the spine, and one on the left optic nerve. They will try to find out for sure if these are tumors by doing the following: 

1. Spinal tap. They did this last night. They will check the fluid that was extracted to see if it contains tumor cells. If it does, then there won't be much question that the tumor has spread. If no cells show up, that is a good sign, but not conclusive. 

2. PET scan on the spine next week (Thursday?). A PET scan picks up cells that are "active". This is the test that was done last July to confirm that the original tumor on his brain had grown back. 

3. Another MRI, possibly next week, for comparison with the one done Thursday. 

4. If none of the above tests are definitive, they will probably do surgery in a few weeks, on his back, to get an actual tissue sample. 

There wasn't a lot of talk about how to find out about the "lesion" on the optic nerve. Apparently, that is a difficult area to get to. I think they're going to do some eye tests. 

Logan will not go into the bone marrow transplant unit with the "lesions" as big as they are now. The largest one on the spine (about halfway down his back (T7 for those who know exactly where that is, I don't)) is about a centimeter, and the two smaller ones are about half a centimeter, a little further down his back. If they can't shrink them down for the bone marrow treatment, it looks like we'll be doing radiation. 

Logan's chemo treatment began early this morning (Saturday). It took several hours to hydrate him to the point that he would urinate quickly enough to keep the chemo from harming his bladder. The drug he is getting this time is the same as before (cyclophosphamide), but at a higher dose (about 3X) than what he got over the summer. If this doesn't work, they will try a drug called carboplatin. 

We asked the oncologist about the cyst on Logan's lung. He said that it showed up as a "lucency" in the upper lobe of his right lung. It was first noticed back in May, from the X ray that was done to ensure proper placement of his infusaport. He said he suspects it to be a "cyst" or an "air trapping". I asked what an air trapping is. He said it is basically when the little sacs in the lung get together to form bigger sacs. He didn't speculate on what could cause it, but said that it is not necessarily a harmful thing. When I asked him if it could be more cancer, he said that it was very doubtful, because: 

1. Cancer tissue usually shows up as a darker region, rather than a lighter one.

2. It showed up very suddenly and hasn't changed much. It wasn't there in April, then it showed up in May, and it doesn't look much different now.

3. The area is not "globular" or "round-like" in shape, as would be suspected for cancer tissue, but somewhat irregular in shape.

4. Although medulloblastoma is known for spreading, it does not typically spread outside the nervous system. 

All of this is a good reminder for me of Matthew 6:27. "Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" How difficult it is to apply this verse on a consistent basis! Where is that line between "good planning" and wasteful worrying? 

I continue to be amazed that Logan does not complain about being in the hospital. When they draw blood from his port, you can see the blood coming down through the line. Someone several months ago told him that it was a "little red worm" coming out. He has never forgotten this, and always exclaims, "The little red worm is coming out!" Afterwards, they have to "flush" the port with some medicine to keep it from clotting, and you can see the blood going back up the line. Lately, he has been saying, "The red worm is going back in his house!" 

He definitely knows where he is, and that this is the place where "yucky" things are done to him. I know he would rather be home, but he doesn't say so. It's like it doesn't occur to him that anybody has any choice (and do we?). I am very thankful for this. It would be all the more agonizing if he were constantly saying, "I wanna go home." Thank you for praying! As bad as I think things are sometimes, there must be thousands of little graces every day that we don't ever have to worry about! Thank you, heavenly Father! 

There it is again! Did you see that? I said "worry"! Ha! 

Love to all,

Knocker