Yeah, what he said
Dear Liz Army,
As it is now Friday at 3:30, I will keep this rather short and to the point. I know that a number of you are subscribed at a work e-mail, so our attempt is to get this out before you all manage to head out for your Memorial Day weekend. If you have already left, and are receiving this Tuesday, then I hope your weekend was a fun one.
So down to the news. Liz had an MRI and consult yesterday at the neuro-oncology department in Redwood City. It has been approximately three months since she started chemotherapy, so now it was time to see her progress, if any. We are happy to say that the MRI looked quite promising. Many areas of tumor appear to have stopped growing, and some sections even appear to show the beginning signs of regressing. This is about the best that can be hoped for with the chemo. Obviously things are far from done, but it finally appears that things are stabilizing, and heading in a positive direction.
At this point, the overall plan is for Liz to remain on the current chemo pill for a total of a year. She may be on it longer, if need be, and if her system is able to tolerate it. The bottom line is that these things take time, and it's far too early to be able to determine how the chemo will work in the long run. Remember that each cancer/tumor cell is ridiculously small. Also note that an MRI is simply the best scan that they have, and still needs to be "read" with the human eye. Putting two and two together, this basically means that millions of cells needs to be affected in order to notice any visually appreciable change. In other words, this isn't the kind of thing that works overnight, and it takes some time to see results. That being said, results are beginning to show, and I honestly feel this is some of the best news we could have hoped for.
As always, we wish to thank everyone for your continuous support. From prayer chains to punk rock shows to cards with a kind and supportive word and everything in between, I have no doubt that in combination with Liz's amazing attitude, brain cancer has bitten off more than it can chew.
Until next time,
Captain Brett X
