MRI images are like photos: it’s really difficult to take a photo of a living object from exactly the same position months apart. Nevertheless, the 2 images above show the same tumor in my head, left, as of this morning, and right, on December 7, 2006. The angle of the MRI is different, as is the exact depth of the image, which is one reason why they look different in my crude screen grabs. The relative smaller size and density of current tumor view, left, appears to be real, however.
The PACS medical imaging system at UCSF, in the hands of a skilled neuro-oncologist, pulled images similar to these two into a comparison screen, and put same-sized grids around them. The resulting measurement showing that the the tumor may have stopped growing: indeed, it may be smaller, and it’s Magentic Resonance Spectroscopy signature – based on my understanding – suggests it is not growing as aggressively as it appeared to be in December.
I guess some 90 minutes (in what turned out to be a particularly tight, 4-year-old, then-state-of-the-art 3.0 Tesla GE Signa machine) was well worth the slow breathing exercises and patience. I may have overdone the Lorazepam a bit (1mg too much?), but claustrophobe I nevertheless got through an hour-and-a-half in a space tighter than the 1.5 Tesla GE (’it’s how we get the field strength’) without so much as a single hyperventilation, so, all’s well that ends well, I guess.
Anyway, I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but this is the first good news we’ve had since the brain tumor was discovered: I feel better, am functioning better and the tumor seems to be responding to a chemo regime that can be home administered (and which will now start up again quickly). My current life plan – return to normalcy – can proceed. We’re about as happy as we can be…..
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So, we’re headed up to UCSF this AM for a full day of procedures and a consult with my oncologist, Dr. Susan Chang. UCSF is a remarkable institution, and its fine, bright, knowledgeable and relentless doctors and other staff have brough great hope to me as I confront a strange and bewildering disease.