Hi Everyone!
We have wonderful news to share with you!
Dad had his 3rd PET scan on Monday, the results are in, and are delightful. Remember... the smaller, the less active, the better... we are happy to report that the tumor in Dad's left upper lobe is smaller, as well as less active! It's size in July was 8.4 x 5.7cm, with an uptake level (energy) of 22.2, and is now 7.8 x 4.5cm, uptake 14.6!!
Some changes since the last update, we have a new oncologist, Dr. Levitz. It was a tough decision not to follow Dr. Roa to her new practice, ACOHA, in September. Dr. Levitz has big shoes to fill, and hasn't skipped a beat. We are very excited to have him on our team.
Dad worked hard for these results, he spent most of the summer with a great deal of nerve pain. I would assume this confirms our theory that the shrinking tumor, which butts up to the 3rd and 4th rib, is pulling the nerves with it. After weeks of trial and error, Dr. Levitz prescribed Dad Neurontin, which is helping to numb the nerves. On a scale of 1-10, after two days taking Neurontin, Dad's pain level went from a constant 7-12 to less than 1! Dr. Levitz is so pleased with the results that he wrote Neurontin for 3 more patients - way to pave the path, Dad!!
In other accomplishments, our team "4 the love of mike," for the Free To Breathe Lung Cancer Walk raised to date $5,343! Kellie was recognized as the top fund raising individual with an impressive $1,795. As a team, we received honor for being the biggest team in the history of the walk, and for coming in with the 2nd highest grand total! A big thanks to everyone who contributed!
My Dad is officially beating the odds, as we enter our 9th month since his diagnosis. We thought it appropriate to give him a theme song, Michael Jackson's "Beat It." It was 9 months ago that I started repeatedly blaring this song in my car to get pumped up to fight, rather than being down about everything. I'm so happy that he can call it his own now.
Once again, thank you all for your continued support, prayers and positive energy.
Keri
(peaceofkeri@gmail.com)
A great resource I used to find answers about Dad's pain: GRACE. I posted a question to the site and heard from 5 oncologists who offered great insight on treating his nerve pain. I brought this information to our oncologist, and it was assuring that he was right on target with us. I recommend passing this site to anyone you know who is touched by cancer, it's a wonderful resource.
