The doctor called Michael's scans "a mixed bag"....Bad news: the one large tumor in his liver appears to have gotten a little bigger and there a few new very small spots on his lungs....Good news: his tumor markers are down to 393 from 683 and the tumor in his colon has shrunk from 11.5 cm to 4.8 cm. Dr. Mittal initially wanted to change the chemo treatment but considering the tumor markers are down so much, he has decided to proceed with the current treatment.

The PET scan was much more favorable than the CT scan but neither report was unfavorable. I think the results are very good in general!!

The summary of the CT scan says "Innumerable hepatic masses are again seen. The largest has increased in size; however, it has decreased activity, which is a more reliable predictor of improvement or favorable response to treatment. At least one of the periportal nodes has decreased in size. There is no convincing evidence for progressive metastatic disease. Continued follow-up will be necessary, especially to evaluate the pulmonary findings. Overall stable appearance to the colon mass."

The summary of the PET scan says "Overall, findings consistent with a favorable response to treatment. There is substantial decreased activity with the liver as well as the periportal lymph nodes...No new lesions are seen."

The doctor did tell us that there is only one other kind of chemo that he has for Michael to try if this treatment doesn't work. Michael seemed to focus on this one negative part of conversation. I told him that there a lot more doctors out there and this treatment is working....so let's just concentrate on that!