Finally Got Some Good News

Today, we were at Mayo. We started at 7:55 AM (yes, 7:55 AM) with a CT scan and blood work. Then 3:15 PM meeting with the my oncologist and the clinical research team.

In case you have forgotten....in March when we went for my fourth round of immunotherapy, the CT scan showed my cancer was growing and my doctor took me off therapy. That began my search for option C. I reached out for options at Mayo, in Boston, and in Georgia.  We know how two of those turned out. At the time this occurred, we shared an article (https://www.cancerresearch.org/immunotherapy/what-is-immunotherapy) that my mom found about how immunotherapy can cause inflammation and present like cancer growth. We also shared this with the doctor in Boston. Neither doctor seemed overly interested and dismissed it. When I had my biopsy in Georgia, the doctor who did the biopsy mentioned that he thought the cancer was shrinking based on what he saw and how challenging it was to get a sample. When I mentioned this to my doctor, he said that we would do scans before we made a decision but again, did not seem excited. Last week, when I got home from Georgia I reached out to my oncologist and he presented the two options (clinical trial or maintenance chemo). We agreed to do another set of scans, have a physical exam, and meet with the oncologist, clinical researchers, and the fellow so we call could make a decision that would be best. Now everyone is caught up.

Geared up with a few bracelets....I cannot wear them all right now but I do carry them with me, I was ready to meet with the team to create a Plan C for my future:

Newest bracelet says "Hope Knows No Fear" (Mom and I each have one, we bought them for each other, LOL!)

After three months treatment free, the scans showed the cancer on my heart and lungs has not grown. There is no additional fluid build up either. That was good news. However, that wasn't all the news....in even better news, it appears that the cancer in my abdomen did shrink. Pseudoprogression is a phenomenon (as described in the article we shared) where the immunotherapy basically agitates the cancer cells and they become inflamed, which presents as cancer growth. It is extremely rare in melanoma and lung cancer. They have never seen it in mesothelioma. So my oncologist wants to discuss the report with the radiologist on Friday as well as have a second radiologist confirm this. He did say that the worst case scenario is that there is no growth but he feels confident that they will confirm there is shrinkage. At this point, he gave me these options:

1. Wait for 2-3 months to see what continues happening
2. Go back on immunotherapy at Mayo

He wants to keep the clinical trial as an option if things stop working. He told me to think about it and he would call me on Friday or Monday to tell me what the radiologist says. I told him that I wanted to move forward with immunotherapy to see if we can continue getting shrinkage. 

The doctor emphasized how unique and rare this situation is and I reminded him that is me. I have never been faced with anything normal. My life has been filled with many rare and crazy things but I fight and advocate my way through to make it to the other side. Apparently, this fight is following in the same direction.

I appreciate everyone's supports, thoughts, prayers, and butterfly wishes through this adventure. I am confident all this support of family and friends combined with my fighting spirit is leading to positive outcomes.

My mom and I were so happy to get good news. We have been through so much this past year and felt that we have earned a break. We know this journey is far from over but today was a win and we will take any win we can get.

For tonight . . . I'm just sayin' XOXO