The Moral to This Story . . .

is that no matter how many CT scan, PET scan and MRI reports I’ve read it takes a doctor to fully interpret the results.

I know I’ve said this many times before, and it’s true — I’m usually a pretty positive person. My glass is half full and tomorrow is always another day. But, the cumulative words on my reports on my brain had me in a pretty negative space.

First was the CT report, posted on June 8th. “. . . surrounding hypodensity that is increased when compared to February 2023, a .4 cm increase. Repeat MRI can be obtained for more definitive evaluation and comparison.” And something new — “Chronic right caudate infarction.” Which the nurse practitioner said is a sign of a previous stroke. Dr. Shin orders an MRI and a PET scan to get a better picture. I get a little worried, but we’ve gone down this road before and it has all worked out to be okay. What they see is just previous treatment (one dose of brain radiation) related changes.

MRI scheduled and report posted on Friday. “Findings likely represents post treatment changes / radiation necrosis although some degree of viable tumor cannot be entirely excluded. Close surveillance advised”. I get a lot more worried when the word “tumor” comes back into play.

PET scan scheduled and report posted this morning. “No abnormal FDG uptake in the right posterior medial frontal lobe in site of previously irradiated brain metastasis. Finding likely represented post treatment change”. I didn’t have much time to process this before my call with my doctor.

Telemedicine visit at noon today with my radiation oncologist. “We need all of these reports to be able to get a true picture of what is going on, and that is — you are good”. And the MRI and the PET show no indication of a stroke, and they are more definitive that the CT.

What’s next? In three months I will have another MRI and PET. Skip the CT as that seems to just indicate a need for the other two tests.

It’s been a rocky few weeks. The moral to this story is, I won’t try to interpret my results again. I’ve wondered — Is this my last season on the boat? My chemo oncologist had said a couple of weeks ago “enjoy your summer”. Will I really be able to? Did I waste my money renting a spot for my paddle board at the Shark River Yacht Club? Should I order that replacement helmet? Should I order that Enve Team cycling kit? What’s the sense of trying to get fit again anyway? I’ve already ordered the helmet, ordered the cycling kit, and I’m really trying to get fit. I’m glad I did!

Good news on the first day of summer.