We had a mixed review from mom’s oncologist today. Unfortunately, I was tied up with a client and could not be with her. But here is the low-down:
- The MRI of her head came back clear. She had complained of vision problems, that her eyes felt “swollen.” Her ophthalmologist had checked her and said her eyes were fine, except quite dry, a possible side effect of the chemo. So her oncologist took a precautionary MRI to make sure there wasn’t something in her brain causing problems. She is to continue taking eye drops throughout the day.
- The fluid build-up in her abdomen hasn’t changed, according to the ultrasound. She will continue to take medications to manage the pain.
- The tumors that showed up on CT scan two months ago have grown slightly. He is changing her chemo starting with next week’s round. This is the most worrisome news. He thinks she’ll actually feel better on the new regimen. But from what I’ve read in the medical literature there isn’t any great 2nd line therapy once the first line starts to fail. Of course, mom has surprised us all so far…
What I don’t know, and will need to ask when we see the doctor next time, is whether there are any NEW tumors from the last time.
She seemed in good spirits on the phone—her friend was there having afternoon tea. So now we see how to cope with this next phase…