When thirty percent is actually an A

I've been doing the TMZ/ABT-88 phase 2 trial for two months now, and according to the protocol I am due for a scan after every 2 cycles.  Today I went to Dana Farber to get the results of a CT scan that I went for on Friday.

My doctor was very happy to report that the CT scan showed a reduction of approximately 30%.  Now, I'm not used to 30%.  I always got A's in school, but I guess this is a good result.  What's more, the CT can't tell the difference between necrotic tissue and tumor, so it could be even better than that (there could be a lot of dead tissue that is not tumor but still looks like tumor on the scan).  She also said that my first scan showed one of the major blood vessels in my liver as being compressed by a tumor.  That blood vessel is back to normal and is doing much better.  The scan also showed clear lungs and intestines and all that good stuff.

So, it looks like the trial is working.  I've been having trouble with a low platelet count, so my treatment is delayed for another week (this is the second time that's happened).  While that sucks, it's just a week and it's not the end of the world.

There's something sad about this time, though.  On Sunday, November 28 (yesterday), I have an appointment on my calendar and it says "NED".  This marks the day that I ended treatment 2 years ago, which is called the NED date, or "No Evidence of Disease".  It's kind of sad that I didn't even make it 2 years.

I'm sorry that it's taken me so long to post.  I have a relatively new hobby.  If it comes down to blogging or knitting, I'll choose knitting almost every time.  Soon I'll post a picture of my Waiting Room Socks.  I'm making good progress, but there's not as much waiting as I expected!