Today, we got some good news!

We had excellent results today! The early results of the MRI scan looked very good, Rick’s neurosurgeon told me there was a reduction in size! That’s pretty amazing news when you look at how aggressive the tumor had been growing. I’ll post more details when we get them, but I did want to post the good news.

Thank you so much for the prayers and good thoughts!

looking good, feeling well

We had a great long weekend! Rick continues to feel well and we were very active working on the boat, hiking, swimming and ending with a massive “super soaker” and water balloon fight. No nausea or headaches, sleeping and eating well.

His MRI is set for tomorrow………..fingers crossed, prayers and good thoughts needed!

Holding our own

Tuesday marked the 10th week of the new therapy. It also marked the day that Ted Kennedy was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. My prayers go out to the family, since we know first hand what he’s facing.

Good news for Ricky yesterday, his platelets went up to 60,000, which means we are able to continue the treatments. His exam was stable, and Dr Herrington remains impressed with his condition. He’s been feeling pretty good, a slight cold last week, and some mild nausea, but very active, eating well and up to his old tricks. He remains extremely positive and refuses to let this stuff get in his way anymore than it needs to. There are life lessons here for us all to learn from him.

Important MRI next Wednesday…………….

These drugs can work.

Good research report which just came out yesterday on the use of Avastin

http://virtualtrials.com/news3.cfm?item=4232

Still going strong

Rick has continued to feel well. No side effects except for some mild nausea, and he’s not missed any school. He got a 100 on his spelling test Friday. On Sunday, we walked over three miles and he was up for more. He almost stepped on this snake! I think he jumped a foot when he saw it. Last night we went to one of our favorite restaurants in Hull, Jake’s Seafood, where he claims they have the best Mac and Cheese anywhere. He ate everything on his plate. Afterwards, he convinced me to go walking around and that’s the other picture here. If you know Ricky, you know he was looking for new telephone pole numbers for his ever-expanding collection.

He had a blood test yesterday, and his platelets remained the same as last week at 52,000. Good news that they didn’t drop, but it would have been better if they had risen. His next chemo is set for May 20th and his MRI is scheduled for May 28th. Please keep sending those good thoughts and prayers our way.

Hanging in there!

Rick and I had a wonderful weekend in Vermont with my sister, brother in law and two cousins. It’s his favorite place to go, and he never stopped going the entire weekend! He must have walked eight miles. No symptoms all weekend! He was back at school full time Monday. He is super positive and continues to not let his medical issues become the center of his life. He just deals with it.

Yesterday we had our bi-weekly appointment at Dana Farber. His check-up was very good, and he is exceeding the doctor’s expectations. While we don’t know for sure what is happening, she is feeling pretty positive that the medicines may be working since he’s been so stable. His platelets did drop to 51,000, which required us to go back to the original starting dose of irinotecan, but we still got both chemo drugs plus the monthly antibiotic and he tolerated the infusions well. You can google “irinotecan GBM” for more on this therapy. Thai food for dinner!

Next step is a blood test next Tuesday to check platelets.