Brain cancer is...
...celebrating great things.
Above we celebrated the good news about mucky pancake (see the day's original posting, below) with a meal out.We also celebrated...
...the newly hatched Dr. Kim Case.
Kim and Mike Case and their three wonderful children have been Team D members from the beginning. They pray for us, do push ups with us, sneak decorate for us, and have plenty of selfie kiss pics posted in this blog.What we haven't shared is that Kim was a credential student during Andi's first year at CSUF (1991). Kim needed to miss the first couple days of class that year because she was on her honeymoon. I taught Kim several classes and supervised her during her student teaching in Corona. Later I had the privilege of working with her as she earned her master's degree with CSUF, and I directed her culminating project (Portfolios: The Big Leagues of Assessment; yes, Kim, it's on my bookshelf). I held at least one of her babies in my office. Years later, Kim joined the department's full time faculty and has been doing amazing things in education--like many partnerships with local schools--every day of her professional life. Today she defended her dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Education.
So, proud, Kim! And also so teary. What a privilege to have watched you improve the world through your unfailing efforts as an educator. You go.
Original posting, 11/16/17 8 a.m.
Brain cancer is...
...holding steady.
The radiologist's report for this week's MRI scan posted this morning at 6:57. Because, in GBM, any cancer cell growth most often occurs at the site of the original tumor, it's very good news that there is no change at the site of the "left frontal mass resection." Yay!
The mucky pancake (aka "1.2 cm T2 hyperintense focus") is, of course, the spot of most interest given both its uncertain composition and how much recent attention it has drawn from Darrell's physicians. Good news. The report notes mucky pancake, too, "is not appreciably changed" since the September scan. Phew!
That's all the radiologist can say: that the spot hasn't changed in size or in the degree of enhancement over the last two months. Now we carry the scans to UCLA for Dr. Cloughesy to examine. The thinner slice size (akin to higher resolution in photography) may give him more information about the possible nature of the spot. In any case, probably the 1-mm slice size will be Darrell's new normal setting for future MRIs to allow for continued comparisons over time.
Thank you all for your concerns, says Darrell.
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