I have to start this post by acknowledging how great the last six weeks have been.  I’ve been able to inch closer and closer to normalcy.  Almost every day I am surprised by the things that I recognize as a big deal.  Sometimes these things are as small as being able to truthfully respond to the question “How are you feeling?” with ‘Great!’ or as big as being able to go on a family vacation without limitations or fear that I will slow others down.  Now, on to why we’re all here.

CT Scan & Tumor Marker Update

On Friday of last week (7/6/18) Ashley and I met with our oncologist for National "Does Nick Need Surgery?" Day.  I know many of you observed this holiday due to the text messages and emails that I have received.  Thank you for all of the positive thoughts!  I had a fair amount of anxiety about this day, and your notes helped quite a bit.

I spent a good portion of the day at the Medical Associates spa having blood drawn, drinking a refreshing vanilla and radioactive dye smoothie, and relaxing in the waiting room.  After a morning of tests, here is what we learned: 

• Six weeks after treatment my tumor markers have continued to decrease!  We are down to 4.3, still well within the normal range.
• The tumor is still there.  It is about half of it’s original size, and I will likely need surgery to remove what remains. 
• The cancer cells in the tumor are likely dead
• The surgical procedure will likely be classified as CURATIVE!! 

It was a mixture comprised mostly of great news with a little disappointing news sprinkled in.  Our doctor could sense my disappointment that surgery will likely be necessary.  I mean, anyone in that room could have picked up on that.  What helped me put everything into perspective was what he said after watching me deflate.  "I know you are disappointed but look at this through my eyes," he said, "Your blood work looks great, your tumor markers continue to go down even after chemo has ended, and there weren’t any new growths found on your CT scans.  We knew from the beginning that surgery was likely but now it looks like we will be able to consider the surgery to be curative.  This is great news in my eyes."  As usual, he is absolutely right.  This just means there is one more hoop to jump through, and we can put this behind us (other than the check-ins every three months or so).  

What’s Next?

Sometime in the next week we will head back to the Iowa City Hospital & Clinics to meet with the crew of doctors that we met with for our second opinion as well as the urology oncologist.  They will confirm that surgery is necessary and potentially schedule the procedure.  This appointment hasn’t been scheduled yet but I will be sure to update you afterward.