Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Follow-Up MRI is clean!

Just got the call this morning from my Orthopedic Oncologist: "the MRI [from 9/28] revealed no suspicious lesions".  They did note that the MRI showed "a benign liver hemangiomas", but expressed no concern for it.  Bottom line is I'm still NED, and I'm very happy to stay that way.  Yeah!

Now, back to work and my 'normal' life!  :)

Friday, September 28, 2012

Double Take!

I got an interesting phone call the other day that I should to let you-all know about: it was from my Orthopedic Oncologist's Physician Assistant (i.e., the group that is responsible for my ongoing care and scanning). It went something like this:

  • PA: Mr. Novak, how are you doing?
  • Me: Ummm . . . fine??? You tell me! I can't help but be a little nervous whenever I get a call from you guys!
  • PA: Well, we were reviewing your latest CT-Scan and the official radiology report and have just a few concerns about that bump we saw on your kidney [something I, Dave Novak, never mentioned to anyone]. We really don't think it's anything more than a cyst like we said when we saw you last, but given that we don't do the CT-Scan with contrast and that it's been 4 years since we've had a detailed MRI done of your abdomen, we thought it best to get you set up for an MRI. Again, we don't think this is anything to be concerned about, but we'd like to take a closer look just to rule out any issues. 

Well, I have the MRI for this later today, at 5:00pm at Emory Midtown to be exact. And honestly, I'm dreading the drive far more than the results! I mean really, that drive from Cumming to downtown Atlanta during Friday rush-hour traffic is a real pain. But I'll be happy to just get it (the scan, that is) out of the way.

Hopefully I have the results next week, so expect more updates then. In the meantime, I'm not too concerned.  Why should I worry?  That won't change anything about what is or is not happening.

Until then . . .

 --Dave

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

August Scans . . . August Memories

Just a quick update to say that my 6-month CAP CT-scans were all clear. Yeah! Next scan will be chest CT only on February 21, 2013, which happens to be Holly's birthday (so it has to be good news, right?).

It's hard to believe that just over 4 years ago (on August 4, 2008) I started my first chemotherapy. Seems like forever ago . . . and almost like a different person. Did that really happen to me?!? I kid you not, I often have to read old posts just to remember 'Yeah, that really did happen!' I guess a significant part of me just doesn't even care to remember. And that's fine, because life goes on . . . and normalcy is a good thing. :)

And speaking of August 4, it was that date 3 years ago that Holly had her last chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer. She's doing just fine now, thankfully.

Next update in another 6 months!

All the best,

--Dave

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Scans all clear!

My chest-only CT-scan was clear . . . as expected. But the best part is that because I'm just about to hit my 3-year NED mark, the doctor says that my scan schedule can shift to every 6 months. Yeah!

My doctor also tells me that 3 years NED is really a big milestone for high-grade sarcoma patients, as 90% of all recurrence would have revealed itself by now. Such recurrence (should it happen) would very likely show up in the chest, abdomen, or pelvis, and sometimes (but rarely) in the origin (my left thigh).

Talk to you in another 6 months!