Wednesday, January 22, 2014

So...I get to have my brain zapped


 

So once again I have a health update for everyone via my blog.

I have to admit, I am getting tired of this, but it is what is happening right now.

So a couple of months ago I started to get some double vision. I wasn't sure what was going on, so I saw two eye doctors and the general thought was that I needed prisms for my glasses. I tried it, and it didn't work. So back to the eye docs for more tests.

Two weeks ago we discovered a build up of fluid behind my eye. It was believed that there was some scar tissue that built up there from when the cancer was behind my eye. That scar tissue was not letting the fluid drain, and so I got a build up of fluid that affected my vision.

So to fix this I had a shot in my eyeball, which was a treat let me tell you. The thought was after one week everything would be back to normal.

It wasn't.

So last Friday I had a regular appointment with my primary doctor, the one who discovered the cancer the first time. As we sat and talked she saw that my right eye was drooping. This was a sign for more tests and a meeting with the neurologist.

They got me in right away. He ran a few little tests, the had some blood drawn and scheduled me for an MRI.

With my fear of tight spaces, I was really not looking forward to that. But hey, you do what the doctors say.

So Monday morning I took my happy pills and went and had the MRI. The vision was still bad, but I was hoping for something.

I almost forgot - two weeks ago I had a PET Scan and everything was clean.

So today Jennifer and I went in to get the results of the MRI. Turns out I have a 1.2 centimeter spot on my cerebellum. It appears to be the cancer that has returned in the brain. The PET scan didn't get it because PET scans don't work on the brain.

But, this spot doesn't seem to be the cause of my eye issues. So I still have my double vision and no known reason for it.

We then went to see my radiation oncologist. He had been in touch with the lung cancer specialist in Madison. She has seen two or three cases like mine where the pill is working well in all of the body except the brain.

So the next step is to meet with a specialist in Madison. I will probably have a special type of radiation that focuses on this one spot. It is a one shot deal. They will go in on one day and blow up the spot. That should take care of it.

I will also have an appointment with my eye doctor in Madison to see if we can figure out what is going on with the double vision. I don't really like wearing my pirate patch.

Hopefully the radiation will take care of everything. They will do follow up MRIs but this is only one spot so they are very hopeful.

As always, prayers are appreciated.

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