We got the results from the MRI last Monday. It appears the tumor area
is about 1cm larger all the way around. Dr. Weir was optimistic that
this could be the pseudo progression he had warned us about, but may
also be tumor growth. This is obviously not the news we were hoping for,
but we are fighters along side dad, and are moving forward looking up. Dad began his first round of 5/23 with the doubled dose of chemo and completed it on Monday. He hasn't appeared to have much negative impact from it and overall seems pretty good. Due to the larger scan and possible swelling, he has had his steroids (dex) increased to 2mg per day, which thankfully is still a relatively low dose. We noticed some cognitive clarity when the dex increased which tells us that the pressure was building but dad wasn't telling us that he was having headaches again. This is the kind of information we need from dad, but he doesn't want to worry us and is reluctant to disclose these things.
The radiologist and his oncologist were very happily surprised at how well dad is doing. He has some muscle atrophy from the dex and now that his skin isn't as sensitive, he is able to walk around outside more and get some good exercise to counter the effects of the steroids. Dad is also doing eye exercises to help his brain compensate for the loss of left peripheral vision in his eyes. He uses a funny mask to help with these exercises and the girls love it.
The next phase of dad's treatment will include Novacure (Optune cap) and we are simply waiting on the company to contact us to set everything up.
We have the tshirts available through a website for everyone to order their Dr. Bob shirts! The proceeds will go to helping fund travel expenses for a clinical trial if dad qualifies for one. In the event that he doesn't, the money will be donated to brain cancer research to assist in finding a cure for glioblastoma.
Please continue to pray for us and dad. The upcoming months will be busy with Katherine's wedding and dad's continued treatments and doctor visits.
Here is the site for ordering the shirts. Remember, May is brain cancer awareness month and we want to see you in your Dr. Bob shirts to help raise awareness! Enter the coupon code HAPPYAPRIL April 8-April 12 to get a 15% discount on the shirts!
https://shop.spreadshirt.com/drbobsbrain/?noCache=true
