I Believe In Miracles - 5/24/2011

Where to begin?!?!

My impatience yesterday led me to call the neurosurgeon's office to find out about when my surgery would be scheduled.  We met with him and his PA today at 9:45.  They scheduled my 2nd surgery for this Friday to remove the other tumor - giving us the option to wait a few weeks.  In the end, we are going to just have it done this Friday - get it done!  This surgery will be about the same length of time but will not be as extensive with speech therapy, etc.  It was also interesting to find out that some of the symptoms I am having are due to medications (such as jitters, etc.).

Our next step was to meet with the oncologist at 1:45.  Basically, she started by saying that I have Stage IV melanoma in two spots of the brain as well as liver.  They will be setting up a PET scan next week to see if there are any other areas that are affected. 

Next, she went through a total of six different treatment options that are currently available for melanoma.  Three of them she would not consider at this time due to swelling in my brain.  The others include a mix of chemotherapy and clinical trials.  In order to do clinical trials, you must wait 1-3 months after surgery to make sure the brain is clear - so this option is put on hold at this time.  Approximately 2-3 weeks after surgery, they will start me on an oral chemo pill called Temodar which you take 5 pills for a month.  They will also possibly start me on an FDA approved IV called Ipilimumab which is done every 3 weeks (she has to look into this further as she wants to make sure of the swelling issues before starting this drug).  There are other options as well but this is her plan to date right now. 

Right now they basically put you on these medications and then scan within 3 months to see if it has gotten any better, worse or same.  Depending on the results, different options will be made.  She did mention some clinical trials that could be an option down the road but again, we must wait for 3 months to see how things are going. 

We made the decision to ask about best case and worst case for prognosis.  As I think we all have realized from the start, this news was not good!  She stated that prognosis is usually 6-9 months but with the reactions to medications and/or clinical trials in the future, this could prolong my life for years.  She also mentioned that 6-9 months was what she would have said last year and with all of the research and new treatment options that have become available since then, there is hope!

I know in my heart that this is going to be a battle and I am ready to fight!  I'm truly blessed to have an excellent medical team making decisions that I believe are in my best interest at this time!  I'm blessed to have amazing family, friends and a community standing behind me! 

And, I believe in miracles!