06/02/09 - Intrathecal #8
Posted 6/16. So, we spent a full day at Moffitt about two weeks ago. First, I had an appointment to have my blood drawn, then an appointment to have MRIs of my brain and spinal cord (considered to be a total of four MRIs - it lasts a minimum of 2.5 hours), and finally had an appointment to meet with my Oncologist and discuss the results of the tests. The appointments and the commute to Moffitt pretty-much took-up the whole day...
By the time we finally made it upstairs Moffitt's Neuro area, my Oncologist's Physician's Assistant (PA) met with us first to administer Intrathecal Chemotherapy dose #8 of 10. She does a great job of it, and is always quick to answer our questions. Unfortunately, that day she had to break the news to me that one of the MRIs showed a tumor on my thoracic spinal cord. Instead of administering Intrathecal #8, she used my Ommaya Reservoir to draw off some Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) to examine it microscopically for signs of cancer spread (called a Cytology report).
The PA extracting some CSF
After she drew off some CSF, told me about my cancer spread, and answered some of our questions, I met with my doctor. He basically verified everything. So now I have a tumor near my T9 vertebrae in my spine. The medical experts said that the T9 vertebrae is about the level of my belly-button, but it appears to be higher on the MRI, although I won't argue with them...
MRI of my spinal tumor
Two days later I had a preliminary meeting with my Radiation Oncologist. He discussed a potential plan. The tumor is around the center of my spine, so he planned on irradiating it lik he had done with the tumor discovered in my neck region on 9/9/08.
Three days later, on Friday 6/5/09, doctors discussed my "case" at Moffitt's Tumor Board. Apparently, the doctors meet once per week and discuss the most effective ways to move forward with treatment options. They basically agreed with what my Radiation Oncologist had told me the day before.
The PA called to give me an update after Tumor Board. Oh yeah, she said that the MRI shows a brain tumor also. It is located in the third ventricle of my brain. Of course, I have looked at a copy of the MRI, but I can't pick it out, so I won't post the MRI until I'm sure of its location.
The brain tumor is in my third ventricle
So, I spent the weekend with couple of things on my mind - literally...
By the time we finally made it upstairs Moffitt's Neuro area, my Oncologist's Physician's Assistant (PA) met with us first to administer Intrathecal Chemotherapy dose #8 of 10. She does a great job of it, and is always quick to answer our questions. Unfortunately, that day she had to break the news to me that one of the MRIs showed a tumor on my thoracic spinal cord. Instead of administering Intrathecal #8, she used my Ommaya Reservoir to draw off some Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) to examine it microscopically for signs of cancer spread (called a Cytology report).
After she drew off some CSF, told me about my cancer spread, and answered some of our questions, I met with my doctor. He basically verified everything. So now I have a tumor near my T9 vertebrae in my spine. The medical experts said that the T9 vertebrae is about the level of my belly-button, but it appears to be higher on the MRI, although I won't argue with them...
Two days later I had a preliminary meeting with my Radiation Oncologist. He discussed a potential plan. The tumor is around the center of my spine, so he planned on irradiating it lik he had done with the tumor discovered in my neck region on 9/9/08.
Three days later, on Friday 6/5/09, doctors discussed my "case" at Moffitt's Tumor Board. Apparently, the doctors meet once per week and discuss the most effective ways to move forward with treatment options. They basically agreed with what my Radiation Oncologist had told me the day before.
The PA called to give me an update after Tumor Board. Oh yeah, she said that the MRI shows a brain tumor also. It is located in the third ventricle of my brain. Of course, I have looked at a copy of the MRI, but I can't pick it out, so I won't post the MRI until I'm sure of its location.
So, I spent the weekend with couple of things on my mind - literally...
posted by Mark at 6/16/2009 01:28:00 PM
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