Brain cancer is...

...continuing treatment with Dr. Dolkar remaining on the team.

Overall, Darrell's appointment went well today.  It was, though, unexpectedly unsettling to be back in the radio onc department (where Dr. Dolkar's office is).  We hadn't been back since the last day of radiation, when Darrell took his mask and ran.  It's odd how quickly we'd moved on with our lives and got busy making new memories.  We spent lots of weeks sitting in that office every day, and all of those memories came back when we stepped into the room.

We heard the next generation of patients checking in, asking questions about their first treatment. ("Yes, you sign in every day.  Then you go back and change.")  We saw caregivers who had clearly bonded, holding cheering conversations while their loved ones were getting zapped.  The couple who wished Darrell well on his last day weren't there.  Here's hoping they were home relaxing, or maybe on Catalina eating steak and lobster.

A note about the picture, above:  That genuine smile on Dr. Dolkar's face is typical for her. When she entered the exam room, she looked at Darrell's head and exclaimed, "You buzzed it!" It was sweet; things were new for her too.   

Being new to the maintenance phase, we asked Dr. Dolkar whether we'd ever see her again, barring recurrence.  She eagerly asked Darrell to continue seeing her.  She likes to follow her patients.  And she's excited about the foil hat.  For real.

Technical Stuff
Darrell thought that some of you would like to hear how one of his many appointments goes.  Scroll down to the puppy video if you prefer puppies to appointments.

1. Nurse does the typical preliminaries:  Weighs Darrell, takes his blood pressure, asks about any changes in how he's feeling. Is he having any headaches or blurry vision? No seizures?
2. Doctor enters and remarks happily on scalp choices.
3. Doctor sits, positioning herself so that she can talk with both of us.  She starts with a conversation.  She asks questions about how Darrell's feeling, how it went at UCLA, what the plan is from Dr. Cloughesy based on the upcoming scan.  She listens to Darrell's speech and asks questions about speech therapy.  ("It's fun!" we say.  "Everyone should try it!")  She asks and waits for our questions.  
4. Doctor inspects the awesome scar.
5. Doctor conducts a series of physical tests.  (Note:  All the oncologists give this series.  Darrell will go through it again with Cloughesy on Monday and Park on Tuesday.)

• "Press up when I press down on your legs."
• "Press up with your arms.  Press down with your arms.  Press away from me.  Pull into me."
• "Can you feel my touch equally on both of your legs?"
• "Can you feel my touch equally on both sides of your face?"
• "Take my hands.  Squeeze my fingers."
• "Look straight ahead and follow my finger with your eyes.  Look up, down, left right."
• "Close your eyes.  Can you hear this rubbing sound?  Both ears?"

 (Andi's interpretation of these tests:  From my readings, I conclude that they are assessing potential changes in tumor size, as tumor changes might be manifested in changes to Darrell's vision, hearing, nerve conduction, or strength on either side of his body.  All of these potential changes are based on the location of the tumor so that its growth would affect different things, like movement in one side of the body.)

Every time Darrell completes these tests, the answers are:  No seizures, no headaches, no blurry vision, no problems with eyes tracking together, no hearing loss, no changes in strength, no uni-lateral changes.  Here's to no! Today and every day!

(Mousse learns to come.  For a price.)