Looks like more tumor

With the results of Susan's Dopa-PET scan on Friday, it appears she's experiencing tumor growth and will need to restart chemotherapy in the near future. Dr Nghiemphu wants to match the PET scan with Susan's last MRI for a better review; but she believes the scan confirms a new area of tumor near the midline and ventricles. She'd like to see the results of next week's scheduled MRI before we decide on a treatment, most likely another type of chemotherapy. In March when we discussed the potential for tumor recurrence, she said there are a number of chemotherapy drugs she believes will be effective for Susan's combination of Grade III/Grade IV tumor cells. Since we've gotten beyond the first and second lines of treatment of Temodar + radiation, then Avastin + CPT-11, it seems we're venturing into an individualized mode where you find something effective and stay on it as long as it works. Thankfully, Susan is a brain tumor survivor who has taken as long as two years to reach this point.

There is relief in understanding what's wrong since Susan has slipped below her fine form of month or two ago and the burden on her system has become more evident. There's hope in anticipating the next level of treatments will do their work to help her and that God may heal her by any means. And there's comfort in knowing that God has us in the palm of his hand, just as he has all along our brain tumor journey. I find these words from 1 Peter 1:6-7 especially encouraging – Peter praises God for our living hope, for our inheritance, and for God's protection, and then writes:

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Our help is not in gold, or medicine, or even in our faith itself. Our help is in the name of the Lord. I can't say it any more plainly – we trust him.