More PET scan results

I finally received a copy of the written PET scan results on Friday. It does appear that the pancreas and surrounding lymph nodes still look good and the small tumor in the right lung has shrunk. The description of the remaining tumors in the liver is very vague and does not list size of location, just indicates that the uptake has decreased, indicating that the tumors are less active. I called Dr. Gosswami and asked him to please have the radiologist reread the scan and detail the size and location of the remaining tumors, he agreed. Jon is also having a CT scan on Thursday. PET scans are a better measure of metabolic activity while CT scans are a better measure of size and location of any remaining tumors.

With the current information both Dr. Gosswami and Dr. Chue think that we should wait on utilizing the isotopes for Jon's liver. The isotope treatment can only be performed once and since the tumors are smaller and less active, Dr. Chue wants to start Jon on an oral chemo. They want to reserve the isotopes for such a time that Jon would no longer respond to chemo. This last round of intravenous chemo was very difficult due to the side effects but Dr. Chue assures us that the oral chemo has minimal side effects and that Jon would live an essentially normal life. He would need to be monitored with bloodwork to track his tumor marker and CT scans every 3 months. Should he not respond or worsen he would then move forward with the isotopes and/or the ablation to the tumor in his lung. We also see Dr. Chue and Dr. Reilly on Thursday so we will no more then.

Jon was fairly active this weekend. We went to the movies Friday night and he helped me board up my office on Saturday after some crazy, drunk person drove their car into my newly remodeled building Saturday night (seriously...all the way over the sidewalk, through the rose bushes, railroad ties, across the parking lot, up over the sidewalk and into my waiting room). He had friends and family over to watch UFC Saturday night and when I came home Sunday afternoon, he was actually mowing the lawn with the riding lawn mower. That is the most he's done in months and he says he's "coming back to life".