Not exactly what we'd hoped for

Met with my  medical oncologist and  my radiation oncologist today and  got the results of the CT scan I had on Friday.  Instead of my metastatic liver tumor shrinking, it has grown. The  report states that  everything that showed up on the previous scan is stable except for the  liver tumor.  Which is very disappointing.   It  was 1.5cm when first discovered in May, then after 8 rounds of   aggressive chemo it shrank to 1cm. I finished up the last  FOLFOX plus Avastin treatment on September 30, had a month off to recover, then  began chemoradiation on November 16, finishing up on Dec. 30. So after 28 treatments  of radiation aimed at the rectal tumor, during which I was hooked up to a chemo pump that delivered  5-FU  twenty-four hours a day 5 days a week,  the liver tumor grew like Topsy and is now 3x2.4cm. 

Quite disappointing results, especially since the  5-FU caused nasty side effects like mouth sores and peripheral neuropathy. So  as much as I would like to say that the nasty treatment was worth it given the results, in all honesty I can't.  But now  we just have to move on and figure out what  to do next.  I meet with the colorectal surgeon on Friday to see  if an exam and possible scope of the rectal tumor shows the positive response the CT scan shows, or whether he feels we need to  go ahead with  surgery on the rectal  tumor. After that and after the oncologist and surgeon  decide on a plan, they'll  determine when we  go back to treating the  liver with another blast of chemo in order to shrink it again  before doing an ablation or a resection. The medical oncologist is concerned that we not wait too long since it does seem very chemo-sensitive and   is afraid it will continue to grow  as long as it isn't being treated.    On a  little bit of a positive note,  when the  radiation oncologist read the  scan report, he decided to pull up the actual axial images with the slices from the scan.  He says that the images are not quite as alarming as the   written report  and he  was much more optimistic after seeing them. I'm hoping his optimism is justified. 

Meanwhile, I'm still planning to  start seeds, plan a garden, keep refilling the bird feeders,  go to yoga classes, enjoy bird watching, moon gazing, cooking and finding ways to aggravate poor Mr. G.  In  other words,  do  all the things  that I normally do and still can do as long as I am able to, because, as I mentioned before, life goes on.  Until it doesn't.  So we may as well go on with it and continue the business of living instead of wasting time worrying about dying.