By Katie Scarvey
Salisbury Post
On Friday, I wrote about young Peyton Rodgers getting on with her life after treatment for a brain tumor. It’s a topic I have more than a passing interest in. I know as well as anyone how complicated life after a brain tumor diagnosis can be, even many years out.
Last week, I got a phone call from a woman I know through an Internet group. She’s making decisions for her son, diagnosed five years ago with a tumor similar to my daughter Quinn’s. They are at the end of what chemo can do for him. They’d rather hold off on radiation. The same NYU neurosurgeon who did Quinn’s surgery has told them that while he believes he can operate successfully, he also feels there’s a pretty good chance the tumor will begin to grow back almost immediately.
So what’s the right call? You don’t want your child’s head cracked open for no good reason. Then again, you don’t want to radiate a child if there’s a chance that surgery can do the trick.I answered all her questions. Told her how much I loved Quinn’s surgeon, Dr. Jeffrey Wisoff. Loved him for his honesty, for his skilled hands, for giving us back the same child we entrusted to him.
A few days later, I met Peyton Rodgers. Her mom had called me a while back to talk about shunts, since Peyton was about to get one. Don’t fear the shunt, I told her. That will be a walk in the park compared to the rest of it.
Then, I got to meet Peyton and write about her experience. Much of it sounded familiar. Short-term memory issues? Yes. I understand.
The day I finished that story, I came home and snapped at my husband over … dirty laundry. He snapped back. We had a little snapfest.
It wasn’t about dirty laundry.
It was about brain tumors. About Quinn having an MRI the next day ó today, as I write this. The day I planned to be writing a funny column about baby name trends.
I couldn’t concentrate on funny names, though.
Since Quinn’s New York surgeries, her MRIs have shown no growth of what is left of her tumor. We didn’t expect bad news this time, but we know it’s always possible for the bottom to drop out.
I didn’t go to lunch even though I really wanted some dolmathakia with my friends at DJ’s. I was waiting for a call from my husband, who had our only cell phone.
My work phone rang and I saw the familiar numbers on the screen.
“Do you have a calculator?” he asked. I pulled one up on my computer. He gave me two sets of numbers to multiply.
We considered the results for a few moments.
“That’s 10 percent smaller than it was in November,” he said.
What?
Stability, seeing no growth, is a victory. But a reduction? On no treatment? Unbelievable.
But then again, maybe not. This is a kid who walked 14 miles this past Saturday.
Two years ago at this time, she was falling asleep in the car on the way home from school and we were making gut-wrenching decisions that would indelibly mark her future.
Now, she’s ready to walk a half marathon with her dad in two weeks. She’d have done it no matter what the MRI said, but now, she’ll be breathing much easier, as we all will be.
At least for another six months.
Contact Katie Scarvey at 704-797-4270 or kscarvey@salisburypost.com.