Mixed results

Numbers alone don't always tell the whole story. The medical test results I received yesterday are an example.

I have no doubt the tumor in my tummy is not as monstrous as it had become before I started chemo. I can wear clothes that were uncomfortable in early October. My profile no longer shows a distended abdomen reminiscent of seven or eight months' pregnancy. Yet the initial reading of Thursday's CT scan showed the lump is no smaller than just before the chemotherapy drugs began to attack it.

In fact, the doctor I saw yesterday noted the report she received erronously showed measurements compared my first CT scan on Sept. 12 and concluded that the tumor was growing. My tumor was in a frenzy early on and did grow between Sept. 12 and Oct. 2 scans. As she studied the October report, the doctor concluded my lump is about the same size since treatment began Oct. 10, which means it at least has stopped growing. The doctor is requesting the latest scan to be reread, this time against my Oct. 2 scan. She will ask for a comparison of shape, too, since that can change, which may explain why it feels smaller to me.

While the CT report was disappointing, there was good news in another number yesterday. The CA125 blood test we have been watching, which Dr. Brenda calls a "tumor marker," showed great improvement! It was a 5 at my annual checkup with Dr. Brenda on July 1, which gave her some concern but not alarm. She ordered followup blood tests for October just to keep an eye on it. The test was a 48 just before chemo started, and was down to 41 about a month ago. Now it is an 8 -- much better!

The bottom line of yesterday's report: I'm not close to being a candidate for surgery yet, but since I am tolerating chemo so well we will continue to try to shrink the tumor with drugs. My sister promises to send more of her visionary pick-axing angels to work on it!