Ready to Beat the (First) Odds

(Readers' advisory:  Serious content ahead.)

 Brain cancer is...

...ready to beat the (first) odds.

From the beginning of Darrell's GBM journey, our goal has been for him to beat every "odds" numbers that come his way.  We face our first:  Exceeding median Progression Free Survival (PFS).

You may recall from an early post that PFS is the point in a population whereby half of the patients have not experienced recurrence, or progression of the tumor, and half have.  PFS varies by cancer.  For glioblastoma multiforme, the median PFS is 7 months.  That is, by 7 months after diagnosis, half of the people with GBM experience recurrence.

This month, Darrell is 7 months post diagnosis.  Tomorrow is his MRI scan.  Thoughts of PFS are, of course, part of the scanxiety of this month.

You know Darrell; he has every intention of beating this number, and then conquering all the numbers that follow.  

In the meantime, we take our lesson from Beowulf today:  Ears up, full speed ahead.

Scan Details

• Scheduled time:  11:30 a.m.
• No perfusion scan (Insurance is balking; doctors are okay with no perfusion.)
• No report on scan is expected tomorrow.
• Appointment with Dr. Park Friday is morning.

Thanks for your continued good thoughts.  You know that ours are coming your way too!