About the Feb 12 MRI
Thank you, Adum, for the image.
A number of people have asked about the results of the MRI last Friday, something which Mom did not specifically include in her update.
One reason that the doctors had scheduled this MRI was to evaluate whether the tumor had shrunk enough to do the radiosurgery (precise, intense dose of radiation) that they were advocating as a follow-up to the radiation treatment. They ordered a scan less lengthy than the complete MRI called a "fusion" MRI, which can be used in conjunction with a previous CAT scan. Evaluating an MRI at this stage (radiation was still going on at the end of last week) also presents a challenge because the radiation disturbs and swells some of the tissue, so it can be hard to say what's what (Dad likens it to a battlefield).
That said, we could gather from the MRI that the treatments and prayers had kept the tumor from growing significantly. They had not shrunken it appreciably or eliminated it as we had hoped.
The doctors' response was that they would not recommend the radiosurgery, but Mom had already decided that she did not want to go through with it, given the risks involved.
There will be another more thorough follow-up MRI, but not until at least a month has passed since the radiation.