Tumor Recurrence

2014 started off well. Steve wasn't on any unusual medication. He went to work. He hung out with his wife and kids and worked around the house. He had an MRI at the end of January which was uneventful and had his routine blood work and doctor's appointments. His latest MRI was done yesterday, as usual every other month, followed by an appointment with his oncologist, Dr. Hu.

The news we feared was delivered by Dr. Hu. Steve has a recurrence of his glioblastoma tumor. It is 7 millimeters in diameter and located somewhere deep in the brain. Terry said she had the doctor spell the location and told me the left stelium. Unfortunately, I can't find out where that is. Terry described it as, if you picture a butterfly, the tumor is located where the spine of the butterfly would be. So, maybe that makes it somewhere along the corpus callosum? near the ventricles? I'm not sure. Anyway, there will be no surgery on this tumor. The plan is to radiate it with what is called a gamma knife.

From Wikipedia:
 A Gamma Knife typically contains 201 cobalt-60 sources of approximately 30 curies (1.1 TBq), each placed in a circular array in a heavily shielded assembly. The device aims gamma radiation through a target point in the patient's brain. The patient wears a specialized helmet that is surgically fixed to the skull, so that the brain tumor remains stationary at the target point of the gamma rays. An ablative dose of radiation is thereby sent through the tumor in one treatment session, while surrounding brain tissues are relatively spared. The risks of gamma knife radiosurgery treatment are very low,^[29] and complications are related to the condition being treated.

The Gamma Knife (also known as the Leksell Gamma Knife) 

From the Cedars-Sinai website:  

Radiation distorts the DNA in cancer cells. The cells then lose their ability to reproduce. Conventional radiotherapy usually involves the delivery of large volumes of radiation, which may affect normal brain tissue as well as cancer tissue. Gamma Knife technology allows radiation to only touch very small tumors or lesions deep within the brain, leaving healthy brain cells alone. This treatment is safe, accurate and effective. There is no “knife” in Gamma Knife: because no incisions are made, it avoids the risks and complications associated with traditional surgery. The treatment is performed in one day and usually does not require an overnight stay in the hospital.

Steve is awaiting the date of his appointment to have this gamma knife radiation procedure. They expect it within the next week or two. In the meantime, Dr. Hu put Steve back on chemotherapy. Tonight he starts Temodar again, for the first time in five months. The dose will be higher, 350 mg, 5 days on, 23 days off, the same as before. They made sure he had his Zofran, anti-nausea medication ready to go, as well.

Right after the bombshell news of the new tumor happened, Steve had a work friend stop by at lunchtime without knowing about the new diagnosis. The distraction was welcome. Tonight they have good friends stopping by for dinner so they are cleaning house and cooking and looking forward to the visit. They like concentrating on their friends and family and not feeling ill. 

I'll try to post current information to you on this blog when I get it. I had stopped posting last year because there wasn't anything special to say…. Steve was just living life everyday with the addition of some extra appointments which were going well. I didn't think just posting lab work was informative to most of you. Let's hope this tumor treatment goes quickly and smoothly so I run out of things to say again soon.