the first update

hi everyone - i think all of you have been informed of what happened to my mom on monday. i wanted to give you all an update of what we're dealing with now as well as the details for anyone who hasn't yet heard and those who wanted more info.


what happened: there is a tumor in the right temporal lobe of my mom's brain. that caused pressure on the brain, which caused swelling, and a midline shift of the brain, itself. the pressure caused the tumor to burst and create a hemorrhage and blood clot in her brain. the headache she experienced monday morning when she woke up was caused by the hemorrhage, swelling and pressure. she began losing mobility on her left side. she was airlifted to farmington, new mexico hospital, which luckily, has the best neuro-surgery group in the immediate area. they operated immediately, doing a craniotomy to release the pressure in the brain. by the time they got into the brain, the bleeding had stopped. they removed most of the clot. while in there they saw what looked to them like a tumor, so they removed some tissue to biopsy. they cauterized the areas they had cut so that no more bleeding could take place.

the bad news: the pathology reports came back today and gave us the news we hoped never to have to hear since her cancer in 1996. the tumor is malignant. it is a metastatic tumor from her ovarian cancer from 11 years ago. the cancer is a carcinoma with epithelial cells, which are the same kind of cells the ovarian tumor had all those years ago. the hope is that this is the only place the cancer is. occasionally, as in lance armstrong's case and mom's, a cancer can break what is called the "blood brain barrier", showing up in the brain, and not anywhere else in the body.

the good news: the full body cat scan showed no signs of cancer anywhere else in the body, which is a huge win for us. treating a single site metastasis is much easier than a multi-site, although both are totally doable. the tumor is likely much smaller than the larger size we originally thought. and, there are frequently great results in treating ovarian single-site metastasis to the brain from all the docs we've spoken to.

the treatment: there are three kinds of treatment for this sort of tumor: 1. excise as much of the tumor as possible, then do a focused radiation, 2. gamma-knife radiation which is probably quite similar to what little rosalie went through - a focal-point radiation that is very targeted, 3. full brain radiation. there are different opinions as to which to do. from the research i've done and the docs i've spoken to, i'm hoping we can do #1, so we do as little radiation as possible.

more good news: jen constantin and carolyn reibel have both been instrumental in putting me in touch with two of the best doctors in the country for this kind of work - a neuro-surgeon and the head of the gamma knife group. they are both at UCSF. the neuro-surgeon, Dr Andrew Parsa, has agreed to do a phone consultation on friday morning with us. Dr. Penny Sneed, the gamma knife radiation oncologist has agreed to present my mom's case to a large group of radiation and surgical specialists tomorrow at UCSF at a weekly conference they have. both of these things are huge! we're getting advice on what to do from two of the top doctors in their field in this country, and possibly the world. and we're also meeting with my mother's oncologist from her ovarian "episode", who is an incredible doctor and an amazing human being. once we decide direction, we'll then decide if we are coming to san francisco for treatment or staying in santa fe. whichever way we go, we'll be starting treatment as early as next week. luckily whichever route we go, the treatment is quite short. anything we do should be done within a couple of weeks to a month. the other good news is that my mom is coming at this as a VERY healthy woman. to think that the day before this happened my mom and bill were up at 11,000 feet snowshoeing.

although this is my worst nightmare coming true, we've gotten the best results we could ask for under the circumstances. each few hours there is another little blessing. my mom is doing remarkably well. she's completely lucid, although a little loopy from having had so much trauma to the brain (this will resolve itself soon). she's quite off-balance, because of the pressure on the brain. this should resolve itself once the clot is completely gone. she's not on any IV's or meds. the docs have taken all the dressings off her head and are leaving a couple of band-aids only. she'll be going home tomorrow, only 3 days after brain surgery. every medical professional we've spoken to about how quick her recovery has been has been totally amazed and impressed. this is truly a blessing. what an amazing woman, she is. she is strong. she hasn't lost her spirit. she's ready to go for whatever treatment necessary, and is ready to do everything in her power to clear her body of this disease.

i am hanging in there. i'm completely devastated but am pulling from my deep inner strength, as well as my mom's to get through this time and help my mom on her road to complete recovery and good health. i;m trying to eat and trying to sleep, with a little help from my friend ambien. :) i know that the stronger i am the better, certainly.

i'll continue to send updates as we hear more. friday will be a big day, as we'll do a phone consult with UCSF docs and meet with her wonderful oncologist in Albuquerque.

i ask you all to reach inside and find all the blessings and healing energies you can offer up.

please pray for my mom's speedy recovery.

may this tumor shrink swiftly and disappear, leaving my mom's body forever.
may my mom be left completely healthy, robust, and happy, with no long term side-effects.
may the treatment be quick and painless.
and may we never, ever, ever, ever have to go through this again.