Yay! No cancer!

Great news! 

As many know, Mom had her first follow-up PET scan last week since finishing radiation in March. Her last radiation treatment was the first day the big shutdown started (in Maryland, at least). So it had been ~ 4 months since her last radiation treatment. As she mentioned last week, it didn't look like any nodes or any other spots (where Merkel cell carcinoma tends to spread - lungs, liver, and bone) were lighting up. So that was all awesome news.

What did light up was a little area on her stomach. A few hours after getting that result she met with her gastroenterologist and she was scheduled for an endoscopy, which happened yesterday. The great news is there was only a bit of gastritis (inflamed tissue) in the area that lit up on the PET scan -- no tumors, cancer, or anything like that. The not-so-great news is that she has an ulcer in a completely different area of her stomach. This was not picked up by the PET scan, so it seems like a good thing that she ended up having an endoscopy. She'll be on medication for a few months and then after another endoscopy she should be good to go! 

So overall, great news. Cancer-free right now! 

In the months between her last treatment and this latest PET scan, she was able to find and meet with the two Merkel specialists in Maryland. I should clarify, there are only two nationally recognized Merkel experts in Maryland. One is primarily a dermatologist and the other is primarily an oncologist (and is now her new oncologist). She will be seeing her new oncologist every 3 months and the dermatologist every 6 months. She'll also see her radiation oncologist every 6 months or so, to check up on any side effects from radiation. And of course, follow-up PET scans every 6 months. 

Her new oncologist is also trying to determine the viral status of the tumor and is also going to be doing bloodwork every 6 months. I mentioned in a post a while ago that at least 70% of Merkel cell carcinoma cases are associated with the Merkel cell polyomavirus (similar to how most cervical cancer is caused by HPV). This is normally determined by a blood test, but we couldn't find a lab that performed the test close by and it's also best to get the test prior to removal of the tumor. Her new oncologist is going to try and get a hold of the tumor and look for the virus there. Yay Johns Hopkins. Determining the viral status is helpful in identifying recurrences; viral titers can increase in blood before a tumor shows up on a PET scan. 

Other than all of the recent news, nothing much has been going on. Currently she has some lymphodema in her face and neck, but is receiving physical therapy for that and it's gradually getting better (all normal side effects of radiation). Taste is still limited, but improving! And we're also happy to report that the sideburn that was stitched across her face during surgery (to cover the area where the tumor tissue was removed), is mostly gone. So, there are some silver linings to radiation. 

Below is a picture of what hanging out at the pool looks like now. Longer sleeves. And there is a giant umbrella covering part of the pool now (not pictured).

Hopefully it will be a quiet few months. Although there has been no such thing in 2020.

 Enjoy your summer!