Happy brain and better eyes

I figure since it has been a few months since my last entry, so I should probably catch everyone up. To make it short, everything is good!  It has been about a year and a half since I had brain surgery, about six months since I finished my chemotherapy, and according to my last MRI the left side of my brain has not changed.  This means that against the odds, my tumor is on a siesta!  However, there is a still an area of the MRI where the tumor was that looks different from the normal brain tissue.  After discussing these results with my oncologist (Dr. Wagner) the options as to why that spot is still there are because the tumor cells are dead, tumor is still alive but dormant, or it just looks weird as a result of the surgery/radiation/chemo.  I am a big fan of options one or three.  Either way, those are all good news.  (Yes, I am being an optimist . . . the world must be ending soon if I'm doing that).

On another happy note, I went back to the eye doctor today who was the first person who spotted the suspicious swollen optic nerve November 2012.  I am now a big fan of Costco ophthalmologists.  The doc happily looked at my eyes and let me know that my left optic nerve is not swollen, and very surprisingly, that the vision in my left eye is actually significantly better than my right eye.  There went my plan of being a pirate with an eye-patch for Halloween.  Since my vision has improved by A LOT, we are going back to our original goal of a few years ago; to hike/camp a new trail in Glacier National Park every summer weekend.  There are pictures below of my husband and I on a trail called "twin falls".  We were unfortunately unable to make it to the falls due to the trail conditions, but it was fun anyway.  Being able to get out of the house again without having to worry about health issues is a dream! (Pictures of the washed-out trail below).

Rock (the brave husband)

Me (the wet but happy wife)

Well, that's it.  I have another MRI coming up next month to check up on things, but I am thinking that it should continue to be good.  My husband and I are now looking over our options for adoption/foster kids since it has been almost two years since surgery.  Thanks to the tumor and chemo I am entering menopause a lot earlier that average, meaning that becoming pregnant and giving birth to a healthy child would be slim. I originally thought that having hot flashes when I was younger would be better than having it as part of the stereotypical mid-life crisis.  Nope.  I was wrong.  Say a prayer or two for my husband, he has to put up with a menopausal wife who isn't even thirty yet.  Either way, life is looking good; happy 4th of July everyone!

Oops, it's nothing again

Let's cut the story short . . . I am finished with chemotherapy!  For the first time since November 2012, I am only taking one prescription drug!  Currently I am free of chemo drugs, anti-nausea prescriptions, and steroids.  The only thing I still have to take (for the rest of my life, which is hopefully a long one), is my good ol' Keppra to prevent seizures.  I am very happy right now that I can avoid chemo drugs like a cat avoids baths.  (If you can think of a better analogy, I want to hear it.  My husband and I had a brainstorm, but we failed in our collaboration).

Right now it looks like I will be having an MRI done every two to three months, but leaning more towards the two months after a scare that happened two weeks ago.  Two weeks ago, I went in for my first MRI post chemotherapy.  I have to say, this MRI was the worst that has ever occurred to me; and I have been through A LOT of MRIs over the last year and a half.  This time when I went in, I was so congested that I felt that my nose was the equivalent of Mt. Rainer - very plugged and ready to explode.  As a result, when I was laying in the MRI, to breathe I had to open my mouth.  When I opened my mouth I inhaled something that caused me to cough thought a good portion of the testing.  When I was finished and pulled out of the MRI I asked the tech if my coughing would be a problem with the results, and he said that it would not be. Apparently he was wrong.  As a result of my coughing and moving, a small area in my left brain lobe appeared to be abnormal.  This resulted in the doctor writing in the report:

" . . . mild enhancement in the medial portion of the left temporal lobe, medial to the temporal horn of the lateral ventricle.  This may represent extension of tumor."

He wrote this just after how he wrote about "decreased size of the mass in the left temporal lobe".  I would much rather hear the positive news about "decreased mass" last instead of ending with the negative news of "extension of tumor".  

After my oncologist (Dr. Wagner) met with me later in the week and saw the comments on my MRI, he immediately made an appointment with my socially-awkward neurologist (Dr. O).  The two of them conferred with each other, and came to the conclusion that this MRI is almost completely identical to my last MRI (even with my coughing) and that the newbie MRI doctor who wrote the synopsis was incorrect.   Last Thursday I met with Dr. Wagner, and he showed me my last MRI compared with a previous MRI that was given, and except for a decrease in tumor size by 1.2mm, they were identical.  My conclusion?  If you need an easy way to lose weight and increase heartburn have a newbie doctor tell you "oops".