Hello again from Houston!
We are thrilled to finally have some good news (and an official diagnosis!) to report! We met with the doctors today to get the results of all the tests and they determined that she has solitary plasmacytoma. All her X-rays were clean and showed no additional bone lesions, her blood work was all normal, her MRI showed no cancer in the spine, and her bone marrow was free of myeloma cells. All of this combined means that the only spot of cancer that she has is on her femur and that is EXCELLENT news!
The treatment for solitary plasmacytoma is localized radiation to shrink and kill the tumor on her femur. We will be back at MD Anderson next week to meet with the radiation oncologists to discuss the treatments and get a referral so that she can have the treatments done at Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center in Baton Rouge. The doctors said today that the treatments will likely take about a month and a half to complete. Once the radiation is finished, she will return to MD Anderson for a checkup appointment and then she will return every two months for blood work to monitor her.
As you can imagine, we are absolutely thrilled with this news and very thankful that she can start treatment to beat this soon. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for us - we are firm believers in the power of prayer and today's news is only further confirmation! We are truly blessed to have such wonderful family, friends, and coworkers who have made this difficult time much easier for us. Thank you again and I'll be in touch next week as soon as we know more about the radiation treatments.
Best,
Meghan
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Tuesday January 9, 2007
Hello again,
Mom and I are here in Houston again at MD Anderson. We received Mom's biopsy results yesterday and learned that her tumor was made up of myeloma cells, which means she has cancer. Myeloma means that some of her plasma cells, which are a form of white blood cell, are not working properly. We met with a new doctor yesterday who specializes in myeloma. She said Mom either has solitary plasmacytoma or multiple myeloma and the extra tests that we are doing this week will determine which she has. I'm going to do my best to explain both conditions, but let me emphasize again that we do not yet know which she has. At the bottom of the email I have included a few links to websites with pertinent information to her condition.
Solitary Plasmacytoma:
Solitary plasmacytoma means that the cancerous plasma cells are localized to her femur and are not anywhere else in her body. If this is the diagnosis she will likely undergo localized radiation treatment to shrink her tumor and may or may not need surgery. She will then be checked several times a year to make sure that her solitary plasmacytoma does not progress into multiple myeloma. 35% of patients are cured with radiation, though they have no way of predicting which patients will be cured and which will have the disease progress into multiple myeloma.
Multiple Myeloma:
Multiple myeloma is a more systemic disease, meaning that the cancerous plasma cells are in her blood and elsewhere in her body. If this is the diagnosis she will likely undergo chemotherapy and other treatments depending on how aggressive the cancer is. This type of cancer is never truly cured, but can be treated and managed quite effectively long term.
While here in Houston Mom has had full-body Xrays, more blood work, and a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy. She is feeling well and is still in good spirits. The full array of tests will help the doctors determine her ultimate diagnosis. We won't have the results of these tests and a final diagnosis until the end of next week at least and it is likely that they will ask us to return to Houston for the diagnosis and a discussion of the treatment options and protocols.
We know that the news of cancer is not what any of us were hoping for, but the doctors have assured us that either condition is treatable and manageable. We are lucky that Mom is young and healthy and has a fighting spirit and all of those things will certainly work in her favor throughout all of this. We ask, as always, that you keep her in your prayers and we will be in touch again as soon as we know anything.
More information on Plasma cells: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_cell
More information on solitary plasmacytoma: http://patient.cancerconsultants.com/myeloma_cancer_treatment.aspx?id=839
More information on multiple myeloma: http://patient.cancerconsultants.com/myeloma_cancer_treatment.aspx?id=830
Mom and I are here in Houston again at MD Anderson. We received Mom's biopsy results yesterday and learned that her tumor was made up of myeloma cells, which means she has cancer. Myeloma means that some of her plasma cells, which are a form of white blood cell, are not working properly. We met with a new doctor yesterday who specializes in myeloma. She said Mom either has solitary plasmacytoma or multiple myeloma and the extra tests that we are doing this week will determine which she has. I'm going to do my best to explain both conditions, but let me emphasize again that we do not yet know which she has. At the bottom of the email I have included a few links to websites with pertinent information to her condition.
Solitary Plasmacytoma:
Solitary plasmacytoma means that the cancerous plasma cells are localized to her femur and are not anywhere else in her body. If this is the diagnosis she will likely undergo localized radiation treatment to shrink her tumor and may or may not need surgery. She will then be checked several times a year to make sure that her solitary plasmacytoma does not progress into multiple myeloma. 35% of patients are cured with radiation, though they have no way of predicting which patients will be cured and which will have the disease progress into multiple myeloma.
Multiple Myeloma:
Multiple myeloma is a more systemic disease, meaning that the cancerous plasma cells are in her blood and elsewhere in her body. If this is the diagnosis she will likely undergo chemotherapy and other treatments depending on how aggressive the cancer is. This type of cancer is never truly cured, but can be treated and managed quite effectively long term.
While here in Houston Mom has had full-body Xrays, more blood work, and a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy. She is feeling well and is still in good spirits. The full array of tests will help the doctors determine her ultimate diagnosis. We won't have the results of these tests and a final diagnosis until the end of next week at least and it is likely that they will ask us to return to Houston for the diagnosis and a discussion of the treatment options and protocols.
We know that the news of cancer is not what any of us were hoping for, but the doctors have assured us that either condition is treatable and manageable. We are lucky that Mom is young and healthy and has a fighting spirit and all of those things will certainly work in her favor throughout all of this. We ask, as always, that you keep her in your prayers and we will be in touch again as soon as we know anything.
More information on Plasma cells: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_cell
More information on solitary plasmacytoma: http://patient.cancerconsultants.com/myeloma_cancer_treatment.aspx?id=839
More information on multiple myeloma: http://patient.cancerconsultants.com/myeloma_cancer_treatment.aspx?id=830
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Thursday, January 4
Happy New Year!
I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing start to 2007. We heard back from the doctors at MD Anderson on Wednesday, January 3. We are still awaiting the results of the fine needle biopsy, but they want us to return to Houston on Monday, January 8 for more blood work and tests. We aren't sure how long we will be staying in Houston this time, but we are hoping that we will receive the biopsy results while we are there.
I realize that this news leaves us all with more questions than answers, but it is all we know at this time. While we appreciate everyone's care and concern, Mom has asked that everyone refrain from calling during the next week. We anticipate being very busy with tests and doctors appointments and Mom will need to rest as much as possible to keep her strength and spirits up. I promise to send out updates as often as possible to keep everyone up to date on any new information that we get.
Thank you again for all the prayers, and I hope to send more information and hopefully good news along soon!
Best,
Meghan
I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing start to 2007. We heard back from the doctors at MD Anderson on Wednesday, January 3. We are still awaiting the results of the fine needle biopsy, but they want us to return to Houston on Monday, January 8 for more blood work and tests. We aren't sure how long we will be staying in Houston this time, but we are hoping that we will receive the biopsy results while we are there.
I realize that this news leaves us all with more questions than answers, but it is all we know at this time. While we appreciate everyone's care and concern, Mom has asked that everyone refrain from calling during the next week. We anticipate being very busy with tests and doctors appointments and Mom will need to rest as much as possible to keep her strength and spirits up. I promise to send out updates as often as possible to keep everyone up to date on any new information that we get.
Thank you again for all the prayers, and I hope to send more information and hopefully good news along soon!
Best,
Meghan
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