The August 29 MRI and the Current Plan

On Friday, August 29, I drove up to Raleigh for a DEXA scan and an MRI of my liver. I have not gotten results on the DEXA scan yet, but I do have the MRI results, and I have spoken to Dr. Rossi’s office regarding them.

I actually got the MRI results Friday afternoon, but I wanted to speak to someone at Duke before sharing, especially since the MRI noted: “Musculoskeletal-subtly enhancing marrow replacing diffusion restriction lesion in the right L1 vertebral body is suspicious for metastasis.” This is the first time there has been any indication of spread to that area of my body, and I questioned whether this would change the recommended treatment we had talked about after the July PET scan. (It does not.)

To keep it simple, here is what we currently know and here is the current plan. There are many unanswered questions, but hopefully those will be answered to the best degree possible after the October 10 appointments.

October 10 - PET FDG SCAN and Pre-Op Visit with Dr. Rossi.

October 15 or 22 - Laparoscopic surgery at Duke.

The Goal- Minimally invasive surgery

Recovery - I have been told not to schedule anything from October 15 through November.

Treatment options for after surgery are being discussed, as noted in a recent post. Much will depend on the PET results on October 10 and how the surgery itself goes.

I am thankful for those of you who continue to pray. Please pray that my medical team and I will be able to discern together the best course of treatment after surgery.

I’m especially thankful for friends who, though eager to know these results themselves, have given me time and space, offering to “check the blog” instead of asking me to text them directly. A little bit of understanding right now is incredibly helpful.

And to end on a positive note, I am thankful for my friend - Rachel Dobrowolski. We were able to coordinate schedules between my two appointments, and spending time with her was refreshing and encouraging. To know Rachel is to love her.