Today I met with my radiation oncologist...we learned a lot.

    Well, if you've ever had neurosurgery then you know that the big pay-off for getting your noodle popped open is the pathology report.  The pathology report is not a treat, but it is very specific data, and it explains specifically to  you, in very scientific language what they plucked out of your thinker.  

     You also get to know what type of brain cell has gone awry and what "grade" your tumor is ranked at on the W.H.O. brain tumor scale.  This is all very important information because all of these details and reports direct what will happen to you and yourself.

   This afternoon we found out that my tumor is the same grade and type as it was the last time they got some pieces of it onto a slide.  It's a "pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma" (PXA) and it's a grade II on the WHO-scale.  This is GOOD NEWS as far as my situation goes becuase PXAs can morph into a higher (more serious and aggressive) grades, as was a concern from my January MRI.  

      Of course, it doesn't make everything better to get this sort of good news, but I tell you what kid, if Dr. W, my newest doctor who is a radiation oncologist, had to tell us that my brain had made a Grade III or IV tumor, it'd be a new level of horror.  It'd be sad Laskyland with more tears and we'd need to draw the shades and stare at the wall for a few days until who knows what.    

      So, my radiation oncologist seems super duper awesome.  He has loads of experience...working with children and their brain tumors.  You might be thinking, hey Lasky, you're good looking and all, but you're a ripe ol' 33 years old honey, you ain't no kid.  Well, guess what?  Bite me, because I must've found the fountain of youth somewhere, because PXAs are usually found in the minds of the young!  Yeah, so Dr. W knows what we're going to do, and I wasn't too surprised because Dr. Polin had mentioned this as a possible plan.  I'm going to get 6 weeks of fractionated radiation treatments.  6 weeks for 5 days a week I'll go in there and get the "area of a grapefruit" zip zapped all with some fancy radiation for about 10 or 15 minutes.  As my PXA  was a Grade II, I don't have to take the chemo pills, the best treatment is the radiation only as far as they've figured out.

     So, lots of folks have been asking, "Did they get the whole thing out?", well, my best answer is that they got out as much as they hoped, but they can't say they got the whole thing out because you never know if there are some astrocytes chillin' out who have some of that goofy PXA DNA looking to make more of themselves sometime.  I think the radiation will get started in about 2 weeks, there are a few appointments beforehand.  If it's interesting (it sounds like it will be, I get a custom made mask!!!) I'll be sure to fill you in.  

    Thanks for reading !!!!  xoxoxox, Sara L.

Somethings to look forward to for you and I:

  *Tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10 o'clock I have an appointment at my neurosurgeon's for my post-op!  I get the 22 staples taken out of my head and then I can finally wash my hair.  
      I realize many of you partied real hard and haven't bathed since St. Patty's Day due to drunkenness, but for me, its a different story and I have been making eyes at my shampoo bottle for about 4 days now.