Today we met with the radiation oncologist, Dr. Childs.  He gave us hope in that it is not uncommon for cancer to continue to die off past this period from the latent effects of radiation, so even though surgery isn't an option at this point, it's not the end of the road.  He also suggested that we get another opinion from another major cancer center such as MD Anderson in Houston, and he's going to help arrange that.  Lisa and I expect to fly out to Houston for two or three days of examinations, tests and consults sometime in the next two weeks.

The doctor suggested that at this point, we "watch and wait" until and unless MD Anderson provides insight into something that's been missed.  A CT/PET scan will be scheduled for 3 months from now.  There are several possible scenarios.  The worst, but not necessarily the most likely, is that the remaining cancer is resistant to both chemo and radiation and is growing now and continues to grow.  Another scenario would be that the cancer goes into remission for some period of time, which often is 6 to 18 months, and then starts to grow again.  The most favorable scenario at this point is of course the one where the remaining cancer continues to die off, and we do scans every 3 to 6 months to confirm that there's no recurrence.

Dr. Childs also told us that it's possible, though not necessarily preferable, to do another two weeks of radiation.  Additional radiation beyond what Lisa has already been subjected to is "controversial", as he put it, but he would do it if MD Anderson's experts considered it to be worth the additional risks and side effects in Lisa's case.  There are also "clinical trial" protocols that can probably be implemented.  Of course, what that really means is "experimental chemo".  We're not eager to address that, but again, we'll see what MD Anderson suggests.

We will meet with our medical oncologist late this afternoon.  Tomorrow we meet with a neurologist to see what might be done for Lisa's head and ear pain.