Ding Dong, the Witch is Dead!

I am overwhelmed this afternoon with what exactly to post on this blog.

Brian went into surgery around 7:15 a.m., and they were started by a little after 8. I was paged around 9:30 a.m., which somewhat surprised me. I wasn't for sure how long things would take, and I find during his surgeries that anytime I am requested to meet with the doctor, I feel sick. I made it to the consult room at breaking speed!

Dr. Litofsky came in shortly, and he was all smiles. He said the surgery went well, and that Brian had come right through. The tumor was actually dead! Ding dong, the witch is dead! (still have Wicked on my mind) I was speechless. He said what appeared to be a tumor on the MRI was actually radiation necrosis (cell death). Radiation causes continuous damage for some time afterwards. He said he would have thought we would have cleared it all out, considering the radiation was in Jan. and then the surgery in June, but that it wasn't uncommon to see these changes this far out.

What do you mean dead? It looked dead? How do you know?

Apparently, the mass looked dead; but they also did pathology right in the operating room. The initial path report also indicates no sign of melanoma. Ding dong! They will do a more extensive pathology workup and report, so we'll know more in a few days.

What about the 50% growth rate?

It appears that the dead tissue was multiplying in size at a rate of 50% every 6 weeks. Multiplying in this sense doesn't mean growing, but actually dying and swelling...meaning there was more and more dead tissue.

Any signs of melanoma, are you sure?

There were a few black spots along a blood vessel that appear to be pigmentation from dead melanoma (I guess that is normal when melanoma cells die).

What about permanent damage? (see anticipated results on Oct. 3 post)

They went in through the same incision, so to cause no additional damage to his brain. They stimulated all areas they were dealing with and got no response. They did a lot of testing in the area where they were working, and still nothing. They did cut slightly deeper to remove a wider margin, but again, this area did not stimulate. So Dr. Litofsky feels that Brian won't have any additional damage at all, only slight weakness for a few days from the surgery.

What if the final path report shows melanoma?

We'll deal with that if it comes, right now things look great! In my heart, I believe that was a tumor, and our prayers for Brian's healing have intervened.

Also, Dr. Litofsky said he was pleased we had pursued this and that we had chosen to cut instead of do radiation...which would have just made him worse. If the path report is clear, he recommends no further treatment in this area.

So how is Brian?

Overwhelmed, crying, no jokes this time. He did not know this information when I finally got to see him around 2 p.m. Dr. Litofsky was already back in surgery and will come to see Brian a little later. So I got to tell him. He actually thought I was kidding! He said he thought I was getting him back from the whole nurse deal back in June when he pretended not to know me! He and I both almost don't know how to react because it has been so long since we had good news. All I have been able to do is hug and kiss him and thank God.

That man is a fighter. He has a bit of peach fuzz above his lip...although it is black...since his mustache is trying to come back in, and he looks wonderful.

Many blessings from Columbia to you,
Jenni