Hard Week

Today my sister is going in for a scan. I believe it’s a CAT scan. The purpose is to find out whether chemotherapy and radiation have put her in complete remission. This doesn’t mean “cure.” It means the cancer is too small to be found. Sometimes people in complete remission are cured, but that’s not the rule.

The sad fact about cancer diagnostics is that negative test results mean very little, while positive results are highly conclusive. When doctors fail to find a cancer, it doesn’t mean it’s not there. When they do find it, barring unusual circumstances, it’s definitely there.

If the cancer is still there, it’s a big problem. There is a limit to what chemotherapy and radiation can do. I’m not sure if it would be possible for the doctors to continue trying to destroy the tumors. I know that it won’t work very well in the future, should she have a relapse. This cancer develops a resistance to treatment, so the first try is the only real shot you get.

If the cancer can’t be found, she’ll be a candidate for prophylactic cranial irradiation. This means they’ll irradiate her brain to prevent brain tumors, if she accepts the risks of the treatment. The best possible outcome is that, combined with the earlier measures, this will completely cure her of cancer. The only reliable test is time. If she’s here a few years from now, she’s probably cured.

We should have the results tomorrow or Thursday. Do me a favor and pray the scan will be clean, and that God will help her to improve her relationship with him.