All I can say is "YEAH!!" Apparently the MRI techs do need some help, because I found out today at the meeting with my oncologist that there was no "smudge" on this most recent MRI. The last MRI that they did before this one that had the "smudge" was not a tumor at all, just not the best work from the MRI techs. As of right now I am off of my chemo drugs, and plan on being able to enjoy eating normally for awhile.
Since I have had one MRI that showed a tumor, and one MRI that has not, I will be having another MRI in four weeks; just to be on the safe side. If it shows anything that is hinting at the return of my James Dean tumor, then I'll be on chemo for another six months. If there is still no evidence of a tumor, I'll be chemo free, hopefully for a VERY long time. I'll then have another MRI done towards the start of December to see how my brain is looking about a year after the original brain surgery. It is a bit crazy to think that I had major brain surgery to remove a good portion of my left lobe less than a year ago. The right lobe of my brain is going to think that it is on vacation pretty soon.
I am very happy to say that it does not look like I'll be turning into a oompa-loompa anytime soon, either mentally or physically. Kind of wish that I was though . . . then I might start liking chocolate again.
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Monday, August 5, 2013
Never throught I would be happy to find out that MRI techs have problems
Sorry it has been so long, I've actually been busy. In the last couple months my husband and I have created a raised flower bed around a funky mound of dumped dirt left by the last owner, installed a hardwood floor inside the house, and repainting of a good portion of the inside walls. The summer has been great, but within the last week things have started to become a bit crazier than normal.
First of all, I have been lucky enough to have some more fun with my new pharmacy insurance carrier. A couple days ago I went to pick up my prescription for one of my anti-seizure drugs from the pharmacy. I had already let them know that the section of my insurance that involved prescriptions had changed in an attempt to make things easier for everyone. That did not quite work. I arrived to pick up my one month supply of one prescription, and was given a bill of $658.40. What in the world!!? Before this I paid $10 a month. Grrr. This prompted me to sit down on the bench in front of the pharmacy and take out my cell phone. I was on the warpath this time, trying to forge a mental alliance in attitude that was a combination of Beowulf and Two-Face. The last time I called to deal with them not covering my chemo drugs was an adventure of being transferred to multiple useless numbers that became a game of phone-tag that I did not enjoy. This time it only took 15 minutes to solve the problem; all I had to say was, "If this continues to be a problem then I am going to need to hire some help to solve this." Translation: I'll hire a lawyer. It really is amazing how fast things are solved then. They called me back later in the day to let me know that they were not covering the anti-seizure drug originally because they misspelled the name of the prescription when they put it into the computer. Apparently spelling "Keppra" is very complicated.
The next big event that occurred was earlier today. I went in for a MRI early this morning. It seemed almost like a celebratory event at the time, since my last dose of chemo (knock on wood) was yesterday. The MRI went quickly, and then I headed over to see Dr. O (my neurological surgeon) a couple hours later. I passed my neurological testing with Dr. O with flying colors. I am happy to say that all of my fingers and toes still work, my vision has improved, and my balance is a boatload better. Then Dr. O showed me my recently done MRI and the results. On the MRI there is a small "smudge" where my tumor was growing before surgery. This is where the news goes downhill. This smudge is either the start of the regrowth of my tumor, a bad MRI, or both. I was sent off to get another MRI as soon as my appointment with Dr. O ended. I have another appointment Wednesday to go over the new MRI results.
If it is a recurrence of the tumor, the first thing they are going to do is to have me resume my chemo drugs, and possibly radiation, for at least two more years. If the doctors cannot decide if it is a tumor or not, then I will be on a low dose of chemo drugs for the rest of my life. If the smudge completely disappears and it becomes clear that my tumor is gone, then I will be off my chemo drugs, but will be doing a MRI every six months for awhile to make sure things are going well. That is a lot of "ifs"!
Until Wednesday I'll just have to sit around and try not to go too crazy waiting. As long as I don't hit the crazy status of a oopma-loompa I should be good. But then again, they do have that green hair that I wanted . . .
First of all, I have been lucky enough to have some more fun with my new pharmacy insurance carrier. A couple days ago I went to pick up my prescription for one of my anti-seizure drugs from the pharmacy. I had already let them know that the section of my insurance that involved prescriptions had changed in an attempt to make things easier for everyone. That did not quite work. I arrived to pick up my one month supply of one prescription, and was given a bill of $658.40. What in the world!!? Before this I paid $10 a month. Grrr. This prompted me to sit down on the bench in front of the pharmacy and take out my cell phone. I was on the warpath this time, trying to forge a mental alliance in attitude that was a combination of Beowulf and Two-Face. The last time I called to deal with them not covering my chemo drugs was an adventure of being transferred to multiple useless numbers that became a game of phone-tag that I did not enjoy. This time it only took 15 minutes to solve the problem; all I had to say was, "If this continues to be a problem then I am going to need to hire some help to solve this." Translation: I'll hire a lawyer. It really is amazing how fast things are solved then. They called me back later in the day to let me know that they were not covering the anti-seizure drug originally because they misspelled the name of the prescription when they put it into the computer. Apparently spelling "Keppra" is very complicated.
The next big event that occurred was earlier today. I went in for a MRI early this morning. It seemed almost like a celebratory event at the time, since my last dose of chemo (knock on wood) was yesterday. The MRI went quickly, and then I headed over to see Dr. O (my neurological surgeon) a couple hours later. I passed my neurological testing with Dr. O with flying colors. I am happy to say that all of my fingers and toes still work, my vision has improved, and my balance is a boatload better. Then Dr. O showed me my recently done MRI and the results. On the MRI there is a small "smudge" where my tumor was growing before surgery. This is where the news goes downhill. This smudge is either the start of the regrowth of my tumor, a bad MRI, or both. I was sent off to get another MRI as soon as my appointment with Dr. O ended. I have another appointment Wednesday to go over the new MRI results.
If it is a recurrence of the tumor, the first thing they are going to do is to have me resume my chemo drugs, and possibly radiation, for at least two more years. If the doctors cannot decide if it is a tumor or not, then I will be on a low dose of chemo drugs for the rest of my life. If the smudge completely disappears and it becomes clear that my tumor is gone, then I will be off my chemo drugs, but will be doing a MRI every six months for awhile to make sure things are going well. That is a lot of "ifs"!
Until Wednesday I'll just have to sit around and try not to go too crazy waiting. As long as I don't hit the crazy status of a oopma-loompa I should be good. But then again, they do have that green hair that I wanted . . .
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