Just wanted to check in with everyone on Tim's visit to the Huntsman Institute. We meet with the neuro-oncologist, Dr. Glantz and got GOOD NEWS. Tim's parents were able to come into the consultation and the doctor spent about 3 hours with us! Pretty unusual! He was wonderful and we left feeling really good about his treatment. Basically the doctor said that Tim's tumor is a level 3 Anaplastic Oligodendriglioma and this type of tumor is very treatable. He said Tim had 3 things that were "going for him", 1) he's young-tumors respond much worse in elderly patients, 2) a seizure is a good sign; those with the tumor who don't have a seizure don't respond as well to treatment, 3) he had a pretty rigorous neruo exam and Tim did very well w/ reflexes, responses, etc. These tumors are slow growing and he said it could possibly have been growing for 5, 10, even 20 years! To treat the tumor, he recommends doing both radiation and chemo (and neither should make him very sick). He said the tumor was removed but with this type of tumor there are always cells that are left that will eventually cause a new tumor to grow back. The radiation and chemo will hopefully help him stay away from another surgery, and would be done at the same time. Radiation will be given in small doses over a 6 week period. He would have 30 treatments so would go in for radiation 5x/week for 6 weeks. The radiation would be given in a very specific spot right where the tumor was taken out. Chemo would actually be given in pill form. Due to huge advancements in cancer research, he said they now have "target drug therapy" so the drug he would be taking medication (temodar) which specifically targets the cells in the brain. He would take the pill during radiation and for the next 6-12 months depending on how he responds and would take the pill only 5 consecutive days each month...and again, it shouldn't make him very sick. The neuro-oncologist will continue to watch Tim forever to monitor the status of the cells.
We have another appointment on Tuesday to meet with the doctor who administers the radiation, Dr. Shrieve http://www.hci.utah.edu/patientInformation/bios/shrieve.jsp and again with Dr. Glantz. He said we might be able to do the treatment locally...but I'm thinking the best place is right here where they specialize in cancer treatment and have some of the best doctors in the country. Well, that's it for now. I'll keep you posted and let you know what we decide to do after our Tuesday appointments.
