Lisa had a full afternoon with a blood test, PET/CT scan, and an appointment with the oncologist.
The blood test shows slight improvement but generally stable. Her white blood (immune system) counts and electrolytes (minerals and other markers) are acceptable, though she's still anemic (red cell counts) which contributes to her fatigue.
I wasn't able to actually get a disc of the PET/CT images today since their CD writer wasn't working, but the oncologist told us that compared to the previous (July) scan, Lisa's cancer is "stable, and actually showing slight improvement." I'll have a better feel for that when I am able to review and compare the images (hopefully tomorrow), but in reading the details on the radiologist's report, the primary lung mass shows what seems better than merely "slight". There was a 38% percent reduction in measured metabolic activity ("SUV") which equates to less live/active cancer, and in Lisa femur and hip it shows as 27% reduction in SUV.
The blood test shows slight improvement but generally stable. Her white blood (immune system) counts and electrolytes (minerals and other markers) are acceptable, though she's still anemic (red cell counts) which contributes to her fatigue.
I wasn't able to actually get a disc of the PET/CT images today since their CD writer wasn't working, but the oncologist told us that compared to the previous (July) scan, Lisa's cancer is "stable, and actually showing slight improvement." I'll have a better feel for that when I am able to review and compare the images (hopefully tomorrow), but in reading the details on the radiologist's report, the primary lung mass shows what seems better than merely "slight". There was a 38% percent reduction in measured metabolic activity ("SUV") which equates to less live/active cancer, and in Lisa femur and hip it shows as 27% reduction in SUV.
