2011-09-12: 2nd brain tumor detected

Blog update - 2011-09-12: 2nd brain tumor detected:

First the good news... I have been feeling great lately.

• I went to African Lion Safari on the weekend (for 9 hours), 
• I walked my children too and from school for their first week of school. 
• I even played catch with my son after school for a while. 
• Today, I managed to load 3 CRT monitors, 2 computer cases and a heavy toilet into my trunk and hoisted them into the garbage dump's large bins. (No, everyone didn't get a computer upgrade, these are clutter from more than a year ago that I'm finally cleaning out of my storage space.) 

 As a result of all the exercise, I'm very tired, my muscles are very sore and according to my young son, I snored on the couch during a TV program this afternoon. *laugh*

I've also been eating liver and other healthy alternatives (other than McDonalds) in preparation for my lab work tomorrow (Tue).

Thanks dad for the tremendous help with our two toilets! They needed it!

Now for the bad news... The MRI results show a new growth in my brain that is 5mm in size. That is small compared to the other one that was 2 cm (i.e. 20mm or 4x the size of the new one). The options to remove it are:

1. Full brain radiation for a couple of weeks (daily) with more recovery time required and a larger gap with no chemo (4 to 8 weeks)
2. CyberKnife (radiation surgery) to kill it. This may only have a 2 to 4 week delay of chemo, and this time they are going to drastically reduce the amount of dexamethasone so that the secondary infections/side-effects will be minimal. The minimal side-effects will allow for continuation of chemo quickly.

However, although my preference is for CyberKnife, nothing will be decided until my lab work and doctor's appointment with Dr. Dhesy-Thind (my chemo oncologist / doctor). We will decide what options are best all around for my whole body as well as discuss what the next steps will be after the brain is dealt with (again).

So... I'll update again tomorrow after my chemo doctor's appointment.

Knowledge 101 note: Keep in mind I have esophageal cancer that has metastasized (transferred) into my liver, lungs and brain. So I don't have "liver cancer", "brain cancer" or "lung cancer" as those all involve cancer tissue that originated in those organs. I have esophageal cancer residing in my liver, brain and lungs. The treatment is completely different than if the cancer started in those other organs, as the tissue that makes up the cancer is completely different tissue cells. So for those looking up alternative solutions for me on the internet, always look for esophageal solutions. A solution specifically for "liver cancer" doesn't apply to me, as that isn't what I have. Thanks.

FYI: Kaye and I knew this was a possibility and we are not affected by the result (emotionally; at least I'm not), other than disappointment. At this stage in the game it is just a "deal with it and move on" approach for us. Another to-do list item to tackle.

Thanks and regards,
Shane K. Boyce