Duke Visit and PET scan yesterday

This is an update for Lee with a report of the PET scan on October 2.  We have to admit that we both had mixed feelings concerning the unknown events that could possibly unfold.  Lee's increasing fatigue had advanced to the point of having to ambulate with the aid of the rolator.  The recliner for sleep was beginning to become a major part of his day.  In addition, his appetite had waned and food had become something he did not look forward to.  So it was in light of those negatives that we left for Duke as we tried to prepare ourselves for the worst while praying for some good answers.

Praise the Lord!  The report from the PET was good!  The scan showed there was NO cancer anywhere else in Lee's body and the cancer had not moved or spread into his lung any more.  The report was a bit strange and difficult for us to follow but after the two radiologist answered all our questions we could begin to understand their description of the scan.  In layman's terms it essentially means that the cancer cells inside the tumor have been completely killed by the chemo drugs; however in the process the tumor size had somehow "expanded" and there are tumor cells on the outside of the tumor that need to be eradicated.  Imagine an egg where the inside has been destroyed, expanded the shell and still has some cancer on the shell.

This report was encouraging and we were told that there will NOT be radiation because it would hurt the existing good lung and it would make Lee very sick. It was recommended that Lee continue another session with chemo, but with another drug.  He will do one session every three weeks and each session will last one hour. Sons , Lee Jr., Todd, and Doug will continue taking turns to go with their Dad as they have been doing so faithfully since this began last March.  We are blessed to have them!

We are grateful that we were able to attend Lee's high school class reunion on September 22.  He had decided earlier that he was too tired to go, but on the day before he worked hard to regain some strength and enjoyed seeing all his friends.  A big thank-you to all those who helped make that evening very special for him!

Now, we just need to pray for Lee to regain his appetite and some energy!  As our SS class at First Baptist keeps reminding us.........Lee is such a trooper!

More Later........................................Brenda