Caroline's Breast Cancer Blog

     As enthusiastic as I've been about the CyberKnife procedure I had to treat my metastatic brain tumor at the end of March, the only way to know if it worked is to have another MRI.  So, that happened last week.        I was disappointed when the report stated that the lesion is still there - big enough to be measured.  But, the report also stated that it is smaller than prior to CyberKnife and is "less enhanced".  Overall, the report sounded like it was trying to tell me that it looks like CyberKnife worked.  I realized that among all the questions I asked before and during my CyberKnife procedure, I never asked what to expect of the tumor following radiotherapy.       So...now I know.  A few days after my MRI, Wynn and I met with the radiation oncologist.  She entered the room with a big smile on her face and said, "The lesion is smaller and less enhanced, so I'm very happy....

CT Scans:      My last scans were in January and I was hoping to avoid my next set until at least June. However, while traveling in Israel, I noticed more upper right quadrant pain so I recently had CT scans and blood tumor markers drawn.  I am happy and relieved to report that everything continues to indicate that my disease is stable, below my neck.  I still don't know why I have periodic pain in my abdomen, but I'm glad that when it comes...it eventually goes.  Copyright: <a href='https://www.123rf.com/profile_highwaystarz'>highwaystarz / The Blood/Brain Barrier (BBB):      ...has been something I've referred to in previous blogs.  I didn't know very much about the BBB, or how it works, so I thought I'd read up and blog about it.  As fascinating as it is, it's pretty complicated.  Some aspects of the BBB are still not fully understood by researchers and some aspects could not be fully understood by yours trul...

     In the past, when my husband and children traveled to Israel, I've opted out because I was afraid.  Traveling to the Middle East seemed irresponsible, given the obligations I felt I have here at home, (family, work, pets, etc.).  Over time, things have changed.  Although it was difficult leaving my elderly mother for nearly two weeks, h aving bad cancer allows me to shed some hesitations about traveling for two reasons:  I'm healthy enough now to go to far away places and really...what do I have to lose?       Our son, Nathan, has been in Israel since last September teaching English to underprivileged children, grades 2-6.  He has been living in a small city, north of Nazareth, called Migdal HaEmek where he works with both Jewish and Arab students. He's created opportunities for himself to see most parts of the country and was a great guide for us.        We started in Tel Aviv/Jaff...

     Last week I was a guest speaker at the University of Michigan...an experience that would have never happened if I wasn't a cancer survivor, who blogs, and who keeps in contact with old friends through Facebook.       This is my first grade class picture:        I am third from the left, center row.  Laura Olsen is fourth from the left, back row.  We were 6-years-old here , and together we gr aduat ed from Cent ral High School in Om aha , NE in the late 70's.  We both went onto college and graduate school and reconnected with each other, several years ago , via Faceboo k.      Laura is now... Laura J. Olsen, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  Together with Alexandra Stern, Ph.D., (Professor of American Culture at U of M), Laura teaches a class cal...

     As planned , I had a CyberKnife treatment about ten days ago.  The build up before the treatment turned out to be more intense than the treatment itself.  In the time it was decided that I had a brain tumor until I actually had CyberKnife, I had a fourth brain MRI, a CT scan of my head, met with two radiation oncologists, and a neurosurgeon.  There's a lot of medical personnel coordination and an incredible amount of technology that goes into a treatment, but for me as the patient, I was pleasantly surprised with how easy this all turned out to be.        A couple days before my treatment, I was scheduled for a 5-hour appointment which included meeting with a nurse and then a radiation oncologist, followed by the additional imaging studies...CT and brain MRI, and finally, a mask fitting, needed to keep my head still during the CyberKnife treatment.        Meeting with the nurse was really hel...