The scans show that the tumor did not shrink. There is a 3mm spot on her liver that they are watching. It could be anything, it's not giving her trouble (if it was cancer she would have jaundice and other hepatic problems).
She is, however, doing much better so the chemotherapy is helping. She currently has gained three pounds since her last visit (roughly).
The doctor says that he will take the liberty of making her an appointment to see a radiation oncologist. He cautions, however, that radiation can make her sick and we don't want that. He recommends that we stick with the chemo and do another CT scan in 2 to 3 months.
He did not address any "time frame" as in long term life expectancy, so I don't think that issue is on the table right now.
I asked to see the before and after scans. It's very hard to tell what's going on in them but he guided us through it. In February her pancreatic cancer tumor marker called Carbohydrate Antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) was 1955 or something like that. The benchmark for a healthy person of CA19-9 is 30. For a cancer patient that's pretty typical to have a CA19-9 level like that. Her last blood test showed that it's gone down to 500. This is a great sign because the CA19-9 level is an indication of tumor growth and proliferation. It means that it's not acting up right now.
I think these are great results. Though the tumor did not shrink, her symptoms are improving. He is very happy with her progress.
We'll just watch that spot on the liver and hope for the best.
More updates to come. Inshallah it'll just be more good news.
I"m so happy that she's gained three whole pounds I know to us that may not be a lot, but in her world it is a lot- showing that her body can handle more =-) Good signs =-)!! And I"m even happier that the tumor isn't acting up, I knew that there had to be good signs. To be honest i was a little scared that something had happened since you hadn't updated but right now since it's good news I'm smiling retardedly at work right and they're all these people staring at me being like, whats wrong with this girl? Such a good step. I truly hope the next step is the tumor shrinking. Which i'm sure it will.
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