• DIARY ENTRY:
  • Today was a good day

    Almost two months after her first dose of immunotherapy, it was time for a new round of scans and an appointment with Dr. Finn at UCLA. As you all know, Megan’s had a rough last few weeks, main symptoms being dry eyeballs, low energy and not producing saliva. At last month’s doctors appointment, we were kind of just told to hang in there. With her getting better slowly, we weren’t sure what we were hoping for.

    There was one thing that we kept secret. I guess it was because we didn’t want to get our hopes up or jinx things, but we also didn’t want people to get too excited. Megan hasn’t been able to feel the tumors in her belly. If you’re just catching up on things, that’s how Megan found the masses in the first place, which led to biopsies, which then led to a cancer diagnosis. Considering that she had lost 20lbs, there was the obvious possibility that her masses have gone into hiding and weren’t able to be felt anymore. But then again, there was a small ray of hope that something major had changed.

    Fast forward to the day after the CT scan (today), we headed to UCLA to meet with Dr. Finn. After waiting nearly an hour he popped his head in to apologize and said he would be with us soon, but wanted us to know Megan’s tumor had shrunk dramatically. He then closed the door and went to see his other patient. It was a moment we regretted not recording or throwing up on FB Live.

    Needless to say we were shocked and thrilled. When he finally made his way to us, he gave the details. The large tumor, Timothy is now half the size it was at the last scan. The other sizable tumor shrank 30%. The speckles of cancer in the liver are nearly gone. He cannot explain it and he wasn’t expecting it. Needless to say he was extremely excited about the results considering that it was just after one dose of immunotheraphy (nivolumab). He explained that with immunotherapy there is so much that isn’t known. His best guess is that the treatment was a spark that jumpstarted her immune system to kick into hyperdive and kill everything off. Hopefully this will continue without having to have another dose. If it does, it just might happen that Megan and the Tims will be the topic of a paper written by the famous Dr. Finn. Now we just watch her fight those tumors.

    In other Megan news:

    • She has gained enough weight back and looks good, although doesn’t have many clothes that fit.
    • Her eyes continue to be a big problem. They are very dry and sensitive to light. Dr. Finn is going to refer her to an ophthalmologist at UCLA. She is not producing any saliva so constantly has a dry mouth and it makes it difficult to eat.
    • Megan will have another scan Jan 23 and follow up with Dr. Finn on the 24th. It is our hope that she will continue to destroy these tumors. This is the best news we have had in a long time and the best Christmas present we could hope for.

    Now tears are of joy! We are so proud of my lovely daughter/wife for her tenacity, bravery and attitude. A huge thank you to all of you for your love and support, keep those good vibes headed our way.