Good News

Yesterday we got back from Chincoteague and Assateague. It was great to get away and have some distraction from worrying about my PET scan results. Even so, I found myself getting anxious as I would try to settle down to sleep at night. Finally I hit on a mental routine that went something like this: "I am anxious. That means I am alive, which is what I am anxious about. So I will embrace feeling anxious as a part of this precious thing called life." That actually helped.

Saying hi to a re-domesticated Chincoteague pony

Upon returning home, we went out again almost immediately, this time to see my oncologist and learn about the PET scan. Rationally, we had expected the news to be at least somewhat encouraging, since I have regained weight and strength while on chemotherapy and my oncologist was optimistic. But expectation and certainty are two different things, and anxiety thrives in the gap between them.

However, the news was even better than we expected: most of the tumors are gone! The largest one is still there but is smaller and is much, much reduced in activity. 

This puts me into the category of "partial remission." It's not full remission, but it is a major step forward. To put this in perspective, remission in mesothelioma is rare, though a bit less so nowadays with immunotherapy.

We are still trying to take in the good news.

What does this mean for my future, you ask?

Most importantly, it means I will have more of one than if the results had been less promising. How much more remains to be seen. Not only is this partial, not full, remission, but mesothelioma is a particularly nasty cancer that almost always comes back from remission within a few years. I remain hopeful, though, that since I responded so well to the new treatment combination I was given, I may yet be able to achieve long-term, full remission or at least be able to keep it at bay for long enough that even better treatment options come along. There are some hopeful treatments in clinical trials now.

In the very near term, it means I'll be consulting with the surgeon and the mesothelioma specialist (and maybe additional people in each category) to see if surgery is the best option for the remaining tumor. Either way, I'll be staying on the immunotherapy (with perhaps a pause for surgery) indefinitely. That in itself may bring some more improvement.