Good News!

We went back to MD Anderson again today to get the results of Lauri's CT Scan. Recall that Lauri's CT scan on July 6 yielded some mixed results, namely the discovery of new "stuff" in the left lung. At the time the "stuff" was thought to be either due to an infection or inflammation, or perhaps additional tumor growth.

The good news is that Lauri's latest CT scan, taken yesterday, shows vast improvement in the region where they found the "stuff". The imagery report states that the "stuff" was likely infection and/or inflammation. This is really good news, because it means the chemotherapy is effective, and we don't need to change to a more aggressive treatment.

The three tumors that we have been watching all along are still there, and remain unchanged in size from the last scan on July 6. The imagery report states that the nodules are "stable", which again is good news. Stable or reducing in size is what we want!

Lauri has been advised to start eating more, more often, to combat significant weight loss. You may recall from previous notes that Lauri has been having little to no appetite. Some of this lack of appetite is due to the chemotherapy, while some is due to the study drug Palifirmin (refer to the totally gross pic of Lauri's tongue, and then tell me if YOU want to eat!!). Lauri is supposed to eat something nutritious every hour. Our Doctor said that reduction in weight can cause the patient to not tolerate the chemotherapy as well. This is really evident in the fact that Lauri did not tolerate the previous round very well, which was when her weight was lowest.

Overall, Lauri is looking great, and feeling pretty good. I believe she will feel much better when she starts eating a little better. As a counterpoint, though, her Doctor said that her blood counts look great, specifically those that indicate nutrition and hydration!

Clear as mud...