A Whole New Ballgame

Brain cancer is...

...entering a whole new ballgame.

First:  Shout out to Andi's brave husband, Darrell, who has (above) learned to sit patiently during the wait for Dr. Park.  (This is in contrast to earlier days. Click here for the post of Dr. Park wait pain.)  About one minute before Andi took the above photo, Darrell said, "The wait is worth it."  That's cool.

Second:  Today Dr. Park affirmed that Darrell's brain doesn't seem to be morphing in any scary way.  Yay! 

Third:  A Whole New Ballgame:  Today Dr. Park did see the same "low" blood counts that Darrell and Andi have reported earlier (as in here).  Dr. Park decided to do additional testing (urine and blood) today.  Why?  Because maybe Big D's blood counts could perhaps be rising faster than they are.  

Dr. Park exclaimed that Darrell is now entering the "long-term survival" territory.  Now we enter a whole new ballgame.  (To ourselves:  "Long term survival?  What better ballgame?"  What better problem?)

Dr. Park told us that most doctors wouldn't be concerned about Darrell's blood levels.  The current  levels might be "Darrell's new normal." Darrell's new normal is definitely what Darrell and Andi have been thinking, as you know.  But now the blood levels might be problematic?  New ballgame.

Today we learned that long-term GBM survival means...We need to look at the long-term effects of Darrell's chemotherapy.   (Click here for Darrell's recognition of how the hero [chemotherapy] is also...potentially...the enemy.  It's a poison.  What else could fight the lethal killer, GBM?)

Now that Darrell is a GBM marathoner, Dr. Park told us today that we need to think differently. Temozolomide, Darrell's chemo agent, might have long term effects, such as bone barrow compromise, which might account for Darrell's blood results.

Dr. Park pointed out that not much is known about the long term effects of temozolomide because people who use it...don't last long term...because they have GBM.

Alex reminded us that Dr. Park is not only a board certified oncologist, he's a board certified hematologist.  (Thanks Alex.)  No blood test results are posted yet. And even if they were, we are not the people to interpret them.  We'll wait until the hematologist weighs in.

Fourth:  New Ballgame=Back to Routine Body Maintenance.    Since diagnosis, Darrell hasn't been required to x-ray his teeth or do other routine body maintenance (...that the rest of us have done! Here's Darrell giving Andi care for her colonoscopy.).  New ballgame=script for a real colonoscopy, not that smear test, which Darrell has done.

Also Dr. Park proclaimed that Darrell is now so far from his diagnosis that he should pursue regular maintenance items such as the flu shot.

Really?  Now?  Okay.  We're in.  We headed to Ralph's after Darrell's blood draw.

Above you see Darrell's blood draw bandage and Darrell's and Andi's flu shot bandages.  

Maintenance is heck. We have the best problems in the world.

Speaking of Whole New Ballgames... 

Melanie sighted Vince Skully on the couch last night.

You notice the cap and the remote control?  Melanie explained both items when she said that 

Vince was watching the Dodgers win their way to a championship series. Vince was very excited that his Boys in Blue started the National League Championship Series against the Milwaukee Brewers today.  Go Vince, Go!