MRI at Lakeside

I know it has been a while since I have written an update. Time has been both flying by and standing still, it also seems to be mixed up at times.

I am sitting in the lobby of radiology at Lakeside Hospital, at the moment. John is having an MRI done on his brain. More on that in just a bit.

I have held off spreading the news of our latest reports until we had an opportunity to see Dr. Fig yesterday. I wanted him to confirm what we were told by the last endoscopy and sonogram. Dr. Fenton told us a little over a week ago that he saw no sign of a mass, at all. I was not sure if that meant that the tumor had shrunk and could not be seen within the walls of the esophagus or if it was gone. Dr. Fenton could not answer that question. John had a PET scan done before our appointment yesterday. Dr. Fig came dancing into the room like the Papa in Fiddler on the Roof! He told us some humorous stories about his visit to Porto Rico and seemed to be in a wonderful mood. He called up the PET scan on his computer to show us the before and after PETs. They couldn't be more different. The tumor appears to be totally gone.

What is really amazing about this is, there is no published literature on an esophageal tumor going into remission with chemo only. He has a patient with stomach cancer that has had the same results. As I have mentioned before, he is the research guy in Lubbock. He is using some drugs that are still trial drugs, the cocktail is one that he mixes himself. So for us, great news, for him a possible breakthrough. For most it is a miracle. I am so grateful that we stayed home. We knew we had the right guy when we found him.

This does not mean things are easy street for John. The plan is to continue the protocol. We will start with chemo and radiation 5 days per week for 4-8 weeks, depending on how things work out and how John tolerates the treatment. There will then be a break of 4-8 weeks and then surgery. The latest suggestion is to go to a surgeon at Baylor in Dallas. A surgeon here recommended him and told us she works with him all of the time. He is board certified in abdominal oncology. She could do all the follow up here and we would not have to be going back and forth to another city after the surgery which is a big plus for us. I don't feel it is a good idea for John to fly when his immune system is compromised by the chemo and now radiation. You never know what germs are floating around with all of the people in airports and airplanes and driving anywhere is at least a 6 hour drive from here. Dallas would be the closest at 6 hours........so. Nothing is set in stone but, this is how it is shaking out.

It couldn't be better news. I am sure glad we didn't take a different route. Lubbock's medical system is very well known in our region but, not so much away from here. As always, John is running into colleagues and friends that he has known for years and is being treated well.

Thank you all for all of your support, prayers, meditations and thoughts. This really is a miracle. It is taking a while for it to slowly sink in.

PS We hare getting the MRI on his brain because he has taken a few falls lately and we just want to make sure that there is nothing wrong there.