I've always loved these guys...

...even before I saw this.

Thanks Peat!

(And yes, the final quote does remind me of something).

Still holding

I spoke with Dr. B today after he presented to the Tumor Board, and as before there isn't much clarity as to what the "white spot" might be. He still thinks it's likely nothing, and even the head of the radiology lab joked that he shouldn't even be allowed to present this tiny spot to the board. But they did all agree that it should be monitored.

An aggressive approach would be to have an MRI in a week or two. To me that seems less useful, since if it's still there and the same, we don't learn anything. Two weeks is not a lot of time to grow. For me, the approach that makes the most sense is to wait a month and then get another MRI. At that point, any changes will become more clear and we'll know what it is and what to do about it. And a month isn't long enough for a tumor to take over my life. Speaking of which, I've got one more month to enjoy. So I'm off!

am·big·u·ous /amˈbigyo͞oəs/ - Adjective

1. (of language) Open to more than one interpretation; having a double meaning.

2. Unclear or inexact because a choice between alternatives has not been made.
3. My latest MRI

Odds are it's nothing, right? Just a little white spot in an area near the blood vessels. Likely it's just damaged "pipes" leaking the contrast agent. And maybe it wasn't in the previous MRIs because the last three have each been on completely different equipment. Yeah, maybe it was already there and just didn't show up on those other MRIs. Of course, it does look like it could be a growing tumor also....

And that's the conundrum. What to do about white spots that appear in MRIs?
I could try for surgery, but what if it's nothing?
I could try for Avastin, to make it disappear, but then how will I know what it was?
I could try to get a biopsy, but what if they don't pull out the right stuff?
Or I could wait, and watch....

Stay tuned.

Which came first?

No, not the chicken or the eggs.
Check this out! And let the debate begin.... ;-)

A happy anniversary indeed

The "official" two year anniversary of the diagnosis was last night. Though Tuesday felt a little more like the anniversary, since it all went down on the Tuesday after the July 4th weekend. Either way, two years is two years. I've already beaten the stats. Year three, here I come.