MRI and Results

Sometimes it takes a moment of weakness to remind me just how strong he is. Logan has now had 6 MRI scans. He has become an old pro at all the chemo and doctor stuff, but I forgot just how scary it can be for him.  Tuesday morning's MRI was a not so subtle reminder. That moment before sedation where just rounding the corner and seeing the sedation rooms triggers the terror that we rarely see any more. Thankfully it's only a matter of seconds to get him on the table, gas mask on and drifted off to sleep. My least favorite part of it all. Although, this was the first time he had the sillies while coming out of the anesthesia so at least I had that to make me giggle.

MRI @ 2 years old

MRI @ 3 years old

MRI @ 2.5 years old

Now that we have reached the end of the 2nd cycle of treatment, it's time to see if it has "worked".  That could mean any number of things.  It could mean all of the tumors have shrunk.  It could mean all of the tumors are "stable" or haven't grown.  It could mean that 1 or more tumors have shrunk but 1 or more have grown or remained stable.  It could be any combination of tumors shrinking or stabilizing. What we don't want to see is tumors continuing to grow.  After the first cycle, we saw 2 tumors stabilized and possibly shrunk slightly, but one tumor grew considerably.  This outcome of course changed our treatment path with hopes of seeing positive change in this second cycle.

MRI @ 3.5 years old

MRI @ 4 years old

MRI @ 3.75 years old

While we won't get a full review of the MRI till his chemo appointment next week, I did get an email from one of his neuro-oncologists to let me know that the MRI "looks good". He said that the 2 main areas of concern (in the optic nerve chiasm and brain stem) have decreased in size and are taking on less contrast.  I'm not entirely sure the extent of the decrease or if there were any other changes, but we will get more info next week.  This is enough information to hold me over in the mean time.  

I would love to get these reports every MRI and have these tumors GONE.  Is that realistic?  Probably not.  Going into chemo treatment you like to think that it's like any other medicine or treatment.  You get a cut, you put a band-aid on it, it gets better. You get sick, you take medicine, you feel better.   You expect to see a natural progression of improvement.  Only tumors don't work that way.  They want to do what they want to do and you have to know how to stop them.  We're in that trial and error phase of trying to figure out how to stop them. I've figured out that I can hope for improvement, but it's not guaranteed. I'll take this news and be thankful for a successful cycle, but know that we still have a long road ahead.

Eyes TRYING to return to normal from dilation.