A Possible Turnaround?

The difference between yesterday and today should hopefully be a sign of things to come. Yesterday, Kevin went into the hospital for chemotherapy. The local oncologist didn’t like the way Kevin looked; it was the first time this doctor had actually seen Kevin since the downturn a couple weeks ago. Of course, we all knew Kevin didn’t look great, but the reaffirmation of that fact can echo around an already tense atmosphere and severely bum everyone out. Yesterday, therefore, was another downer. Kevin was exhausted and didn’t feel up to doing much, and everyone was pretty depressed.

Apparently, the jury is still out on the topic of the tumor growth (sorry for misleading you in the last post, that’s what we thought the situation was at the time). There are some radiologists who think the tumor has slightly grown since the previous MRI, but there are some who think the change is negligible. However, even if the tumor appears slightly larger on this MRI, there is the possibility that the “growth” is due to swelling that would have been suppressed by steroids, had Kevin remained on a steady dosage of steroids over the past few weeks. Our attempts to get him off the steroids may have caused this swelling to flare up, which may appear as tumor enlargement on the MRI. I’ll update you all when we have a more definitive answer as to what the MRI actually shows… but for now, know that the tumor is about the same size, but we may adjust the chemotherapy regimen if it is decided that the tumor is growing slightly.

Yesterday, we started an even larger dosage of IV and oral steroids to see if that could boost Kevin’s energy. So far, the results seem to be positive. Kevin was more energetic today, and he even did a few exercises at home. When Mom asked if he wanted her to cancel tomorrow’s occupational therapy appointment, he said not to cancel yet, but to see how he feels in the morning. I think that answer shows that he’s feeling a bit better, both physically and mentally. We hope this trend continues so he can resume therapy, return to eating and reclaim his fighting spirit.