The results are in!

The day has finally arrived!  Pete and I met with Neuro-Oncology today to receive the final pathology report and discuss a treatment plan.  I have to say, with everyone asking us "Have you found out what it is yet?" the experience has been oddly similar to finding out the gender of a baby.  And since the cool thing for expecting parents to do now is have Gender Reveal Parties, I began to wonder if the socially acceptable thing to do would be for us to host a Tumor Reveal Party.  But then I considered how depressing that would be, and figured no one would want to eat the cake, so I quickly trashed the idea and added it to my rather lengthy list of "Worst Ideas Ever".

We began our visit with the obligatory goofy face picture.  If there's anything we've learned this past month, it's that tradition is important!

We then attempted to assess Pete's pain level according to the oh-so-accurate smiley face chart.  About a week ago, his pain would have been a 5. (Also known as the "I've really got to pee and we're 10 miles from the nearest rest stop" face)

However, due to a speedy recovery, Pete determined that his pain was actually at a level 1. (a.k.a. the "Heck yeah I want a pony!" face)

We then met with the neuro-oncologist, who went over the final pathology report with us and answered my butt-load of questions.  The official report is that Pete has a low-grade oligodendroglioma.  At first, I was really disappointed, because I had big plans for making some "Kiss My Astrocytoma" t-shirts.  But, as it turns out, this diagnosis is much more favorable.  In general, oligodendrogliomas tend to be more slow-growing tumors.  Furthermore, the tumor contains IDH mutations, which means there is an increased likelihood for 1p/19q co-deletion.  I honestly have no idea what I just said there, but the doctor explained that this is the best type of glioma to have.  It means that Pete is more likely to respond well to treatments and have a prolonged survival.  Now, the bad news is that it's still a glioma, which is considered incurable.  The surgeon told us before surgery that he wouldn't be able to remove all of the tumor, and he was right.  We saw before & after MRI images today and were quite surprised to see how much of the tumor was left behind.  Part of it had grown close to the area of the brain that controls motor skills, and they chose to leave that part alone rather than compromise Pete's physical abilities.  So, part of the tumor is still there, and as time passes it will progress into a more aggressive type of cancer.  However, doctors have been quick to reassure us that 10-15 years is a lot of time for new developments to take place in the medical field.  We're remaining hopeful!

So, they drew blood for labwork today in order to determine if Pete has the 1p/19q co-deletion.  We return to Vanderbilt in 2 weeks for the results.  From there, we will most likely proceed forward with chemotherapy.  Luckily, the chemo has very mild side effects and comes in a pill form that Pete will take for 5 days, and then come off for the remainder of the month.  At the beginning of the next month, he will begin another 5-day round.  Treatment will last anywhere from 6-12 months, at which point they will stop chemo and evaluate the tumor with MRI's every few months.

After the appointment, we stopped by to visit a couple that we happened to learn about through some mutual friends.  Bo and Kristin have been at Vanderbilt for over a month now as Bo fights stage IV colon cancer.  We were completely blown away by the faith and strength they both displayed, and also humbled by the fact that our circumstances pale in comparison to theirs.  I know that many of you have followed this blog faithfully and sent prayers our way.  Please add Bo and Kristin to your prayer list as well!  

Those are all the updates I have for now.  Things have settled down quite a bit but I will try to keep the blog rolling.  Next doctor visit is in 2 weeks!  Thanks for checking in, friends!