MRI Series

I have finally got the hang of the MRI discs given to me about a month ago. These pictures are the series of MRI's sent in to the drug company for review and ultimate determination of their drugs effectiveness against glioblastoma tumors a.k.a. the results of poster boy Bryon Gundersen.

I will do my best to explain each photo, but no guarantees you will all be able to see what we see.
These first two pictures are from January 16, 2009 or the day of the second surgery. These are post operation pictures so all you can really see is the hole where the tumor was and the chemo wafers that were placed directly on remaining tumor tissue.(those are the little black lines you can see.)

This second photo I put in just to give you an idea of how deep they had to go to get out as much tumor as possible. It is the darker gray smudge on the right side of the photo the extends from the top of the brain, and goes almost all the way down to the brain stem, or the black spot at the bottom.

In March, we had an MRI to start the drug trial. The chemo wafers have dissolved and done a nice job at keeping the tumor nice and small. All you can see now is the hole where the tumor once was and an area of fluid that fills the void.(that would be the big black spot on the thing that looks like a brain.) All the scans from here down are viewing from the top of Bryon's head.

In May, the MRI showed some growth around the void left from surgery. Tumor cells light up with the contrast material they gave Bryon before the MRI. Any tumor growth you see will be the lighter ring around what used to be just a black space. You can see it is growing almost all the way around the area.

I messed up on this one, but you can see how the tumor had grown a bit between May and July. Again, the tumor is the lighter material you can see in the middle.

OK, so I messed up on September's MRI also, but again you can see what they were looking at. This was the largest the tumor got after surgery in 2009, at 23.4 mm the doctor was beginning to get a little nervous.

November, we held our breath. Not much change in size this time, but it was still borderline. If the tumor had grown much more than this Bryon would have been kicked out of the trial and forced to try other avenues of treatment.

December rolled around and we were preparing for some bad news. To our surprise and relief the tumor had actually shown some reduction. Exact measurements are not available, but what a relief to know we weren't headed for surgery again for the New Year.

February was significant! The radiologist was nice enough to point out where the tumor was on this scan. Obvious reduction and it was really exciting to just about everyone involved. The arrow points to a little dot that looks like a pimple...to me anyway.

So, from this point on I have no more pictures, but there is nothing to see in them anyway. Bryon's MRI's have shown no growth and the doctor feels there is absolutely no mass anymore. It wouldn't be much fun to look at a black hole in someone's brain now would it? Of course the doctor's official opinion is that there is some tumor still there, but he is definitely blown away by the progress made by Bryon and this drug trial. As for the drug company, they have no idea what to do at this point. They have not had anyone with this type of success, therefore they never considered what to do when there was no longer any tumor to treat. A conference is being held to discuss what to do with Bryon, but treatment continues till the experts can figure out what is best.

What do we do now?

For awhile now we have been telling you how great Bryon is doing and that things are continuing as normal. We had our eight week MRI this past Monday and stayed overnight to see the Dr. on Tuesday.

After viewing the slides Dr. Jensen just chuckled and said "Exactly what am I supposed to measure? There is nothing there! I have never seen anything like this before."

We asked a few questions about Bryon's current medications and he has been instructed to stop taking his seizure medication, as a seizure is most unlikely in his current condition. That type of medication makes a person feel very "weird" as Bryon puts it, but really any drug could do that. He is very excited that he has one less drug on the menu.

I dared to ask the question about when will we take Bryon off the medication to see if the tumor is truly gone? Dr. Jensen admitted that no matter how awesome the results are, a person cannot be on chemo forever. He is going to discuss it with the drug company and see what they want to do. He is also going to press that if the tumor comes back, Bryon must be able to restart the treatments. We felt it was a reasonable proposal since it would really test the drugs capabilities. Regular chemo treatments are generally done for one year and Bryon is now a good month into the second year of the same treatment. Keep in mind, also, that remission is not possible without going ten years without re-occurrence after treatment. That's a long time for such an aggressive cancer.

In the previous post I mentioned that we would like all readers to list names of cancer victims. Unfortunately, we have another one to add to the pile. Bryon's 1st cousin and good friend was recently diagnosed with melanoma. It was one of those bad moles that we all ignore, and he was sent to the Huntsman Center on Monday and Tuesday for tests. Even though he may be out of the woods, the doctor he visited suggested that the entire Jacobson family (Bryon's mother's side) get a check up. Bryon has had two uncles, his mother, grandmother, and now his cousin with some type of cancer. Let this be a friendly reminder that even though some cancers are not genetic, you may be in a family that is prone to cancer in general.

What a remarkable brain you have!

Here is some 'for fun' news that we received on Monday. The drug company is having a conference to talk about their trial drugs awesomeness with other health care professionals. The clinical trial patients files and MRI's will be presented for many doctors and researchers, just to show off how great it is doing in phases I and II. Bryon's MRI is going to be front and center since he has shown the most progress in reducing tumor size and increased brain function. His name will not be mentioned, but he is the official poster brain at this conference.

On the way home yesterday, Bryon mentioned he had just drank the worst Coke he had ever had. The chemo is apparently getting to him a bit, and it isn't that surprising after being on it for the past year. His body is adjusting to it well now so his weight loss is not as dramatic as it used to be, and he can bounce back quite quickly when his white cell counts are not too low. His counts are lower this week, but not terrible, so he is up and moving while fighting the fatigue.

In my next post I hope to start up the online auction as mentioned in previous posts. Please tell as many people as you can about this blog so we can get some major support for our friends.

Do unto others as you would have done to you. Cancer is a continuous battle and no one should have to suffer from it's terrible tolls on income and mental and physical strain. Prayers are always welcome. If you know anyone who is fighting cancer, has passed away from cancer, or has managed to beat their cancer please leave their name in the comments for us so that we may forward prayers to them as well.

NEW TOPICS!

I know it has been way too long since I gave you an update, but you'll be happy to know everything is smoothing out quite nicely. The second MRI was no different than the first, and the drug company paid for it along with an echo cardiogram that is required yearly. Treatment continues and Bryon feels like maybe he is ready to take on household responsibilities. I am grateful for that since I have been begging him to let me get a job for the last two years and he has finally granted my request. I turned in an application today and was told that I was more than likely to be hired on graveyard at Schreiber Foods. HURRAY FOR HEALTH BENEFITS!!

Our predicament now is that Bryon still has to go to SLC on Mondays for treatment. If I get the graveyard shift I will be able to take him, but was wondering if we could get any volunteers to to help out if needed? We have wonderful family members who said I should go ahead and get the job and we'll work the rest out later. It is now officially later, for me anyway, so if you feel you need to get out of town on someone else's dime and car let me know.

AUCTION NOTICE!!

There will be no more auction items put out for Bryon's cause. We feel that we are no longer the ones in most need of help and would like to use the online auction and remaining items to better serve a friend who is just starting the same journey as Bryon. Kris Cole is 19 years old and has recently been diagnosed with a stage 4 glioblastoma tumor. He has had one surgery and is currently undergoing radiation therapy. When the radiation is complete, he will have a month off and then start a clinical drug trial at McKay Dee Hospital in Ogden, UT. Anything auctioned on this blog will go directly to his travel expenses and needs during this difficult time. I also want everyone to know you can donate $5.00 at Hansen's Glass & Paint store in Preston, ID and receive a black bracelet that says'Fight The Fight KC #24' on it. It is an awesome way to show your support for all cancer patients who are fighting for their lives. If you have any items you would like to donate please email me or leave a comment on this post. Thanks for everything, and stay tuned for further updates on Bryon and Kris.

sarakay@plmw.com