February 11

Hi,

While Denny naps before we head out to his physical therapy appointment, I thought I'd write to let you know about the MRI he had this morning. It was a long procedure this time (over an hour in that tube!! I was claustrophobic just thinking of him being in there that long) because the oncologist had ordered more images than in the past. Once he was finished, we went straight to Steve Howard's office and as soon as he was able to get them, he read the results of the MRI. To make a long story short, the tumor is stable, which, given all that Den's been through with the blood clots, etc., is a good thing. It is the same size as the last MRI showed in December, is completely encapsulated with an even smoother edge than before, and appears to be decomposing from the inside out, i.e. there is a mass of dead cells right in the middle of the tumor.

There is no way to predict how this tumor will or will not change as treatment continues. But as long as Denny has only the one side effect (a hand tremor), Dr. Howard is satisfied with the situation. The chemotherapy is obviously working, and as Den gets stronger in general, we hope that the debris within the tumor will go away. If and when that happens, the tumor would most likely be at the right size for stereotactic radio surgery. Now we will have to wait another few months before they can do all of this over again.

We will be seeing Dr. Meena on Friday and she will give us her take on everything, but I can't imagine that it will be too much different. She will continue to monitor the chemotherapy, the steroid intake, and Den's blood work. Dr. Howard was extremely pleased with the strides Den has made in the last month with the physical therapy and said that whatever he's doing he should continue and I'm fairly certain that Dr. Meena will concur. They both encourage him to do as much as he can and wants to do regarding teaching, which they know is his passion. Den has been happy to be doing some tele-conferencing with his students as well as reading some of their papers. As we get into spring he hopes to get back into the classroom a few hours each week. That would be great.

So, the journey continues. Thank you, all, for caring enough to join us. I know it is the prayers of everyone reading this blog, as well as other family and friends, who have made this bearable for us. It is what it is, and we know how much worse it could be. While he has had some set-backs, Den has never had the headaches or seizures that most people with this type of tumor experience. We are deeply grateful for everything that everyone has done to make this New Normal an easier place to be.

Love,
Carla