Scan Day

Those of you who have dealt with this cancer thing in your life, or your loved one's life, know that your world rotates around scan day...in our case MRI day.  Once the date is scheduled, it is implanted in your brain.  Life keeps happening but that date lingers.  There's anticipation because you know you will get answers, but also dread because you might not like those answers.

At Kevin's last scan in late May, the news wasn't good, but we were expecting it.  His symptoms had us prepared.  Today, I really had no idea what to expect.  In my opinion, Kevin hadn't gotten any worse.  On the other hand, Kevin thought he felt worse and was apprehensive about today.

After our last visit to Mayo, we had made the decision to have all future MRIs scheduled at Rochester so we could see Dr. Uhm the same day and avoid the runaround getting his opinion.

The first half of the day, things were going our way.  I met Kevin at his work at 10:00, had an uneventful drive, found a fantastic parking space in the ramp, and located the lab area without a hitch. We were probably almost 45 minutes ahead of his scheduled lab time but they took him in early anyway.  The MRI wasn't scheduled until 12:55 but we decided to try our luck again and see if he might get in early.  Luck was on our side.  He went back about 30 minutes ahead of schedule.  Woohoo! That meant we got to eat lunch!  I learned my lesson this time...DO NOT look at magazines while waiting for Kev to get out of the MRI.  They are full of pictures of food and it is torture on a grumbling stomach.

For those familiar with Rochester, we walked a few blocks from Mayo to Newt's to grab a burger. They have been voted #1 burgers in Rochester for the past several years.  It was an easy walk, good food, and I'm glad we gave it a try.  I will admit, I've been pretty spoiled my whole life and taken many things for granted.  For example, as we searched for Newt's, we discovered that it was an upstairs restaurant.  Accessing it meant walking up a long set of metal stairs outside the building. Until Kevin's situation opened my eyes, I would not have thought twice and just cruised on up the stairs.  Today I thought, I wonder how many people cannot eat here because they cannot climb the stairs. I wonder if we wanted to eat here again in the future if Kevin would be capable of the climb. Okay, let's be honest, I also wondered how many people had a few too many beers and fell down the stairs.

We were not scheduled to see the doctor until 4:00 so we had time to kill.  We enjoyed the beautiful day with a leisurely walk back, stopping to relax at a few benches along the way.  As usual, I was trying to make conversation, and thinking about the possibility of finding ice cream. Kevin, in contrast, was becoming more quiet and withdrawn.  At close to 3:00 we decided to press our luck and check in early.  Maybe there was a cancellation. Maybe they were ahead of schedule (I know you are chuckling at that one).  When Kevin gave his information at the desk, the lady responded, "You know your early for your appointment."  Kevin quipped, "I didn't have enough time to go home and come back so I thought I'd hang out here."

Kevin proceeded to nap.  With a full tummy, I could look at magazines again.  I tried to doze, but I was afraid we would both be sleeping and miss them calling our name.  I would nod off and then pop up to look at the clock...three whole minutes had passed.  Repeat. Repeat. Finally I gave up.  I was flabbergasted when Kevin woke up at exactly 4:00.  I looked at him.  "How did you do that?!?"

At 4:15 they called us back.  So much for the luck from the morning.  They did all that fun height/weight/blood pressure stuff and then left us to wait for the doctor.  And wait.  And wait. When you are expecting bad news, you just want to get it over with. Meanwhile, we could hear nurses and assistants leaving.  "Have a good night."  What if they forgot us in here?  At 4:45 I opened the door to investigate.  I heard Dr. Uhm's voice so I knew he hadn't left for the night.

At 5:00, Samantha, a nurse practitioner came in.  "I've just had a very long conversation with Dr. Uhm and I'm here to discuss your results."  She must have seen the look on my face because she commented about not seeing Dr. Uhm.  Me, being always so blunt, said "He is the whole reason we came here."  She said she was more than happy to have him come in at the end to answer any of our questions.

Contrary to what we expected, the MRI showed substantial improvement.  The tumor had shrunk! Admittedly, I was still doubtful.  I had read that the infusion Kevin was receiving, Avastin, could cause scans to appear better even if they weren't.  Samantha agreed with what I had read but assured us that the scans showed improvement in both the enhancement view and swelling view. I wish I had a picture to share of the comparison between the May MRI and today's scan. They are clearly different. There were a few brief moments where I believe Kevin was so overcome with relief that he was trying to hold it together in order to comprehend everything she was saying.  Understandably so.

The plan is to continue on the Avastin treatments every two weeks and return for an MRI in six to eight weeks.  If Kevin should have more pressing issues with excessive tiredness, an increase in blood pressure (side effect of Avastin) or negative changes in lab results, they could change the schedule to once every three weeks.  This would allow more time for his body to recover in between treatments.

By the way, we didn't have Dr. Uhm come in to see us.  Samantha was very thorough in her explanations and answered all of our questions.

So today we are thankful for:

• Another beautiful day.
• Remarkable health care facilities around the country that help people find answers.
• A shrunken tumor!
• The many people who are praying for us.
• Answered prayers.

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us--whatever we ask--we know that we have what we asked of him. 1 John 5:14-15