MD ANDERSON

Today we went to MD Anderson for a second opinion about Scott's GBN Treatment. After meeting with the oncologist, we have decided that that will be our new "home". We had good meeting with the doctor, and as they have all said before, this is the worst kind of brain tumor that one can have because of its aggressiveness and its ability to multiply. We feel that this new doctor has had many experiences with, and is very knowledgeable about this type of brain tumor.

He explained to us that there have been many patients who have gone on to live for many years with this type of tumor. The problem with this tumor is that it never really goes away. It will continue to come back, its just a matter of when it will re-appear. Each person is different, and the Doctor confirmed again that Scott has many things that are going good for him. 1) he has had a terrific surgery/ recovery and 2) he is young. We look at those as very positive things! We are going to pray that Scott is going to be blessed with a tumor that decides not to come back for a while!

We also learned that MD Anderson has many other studies that Scott can participate in, which is a positive thing and another reason why we have decided to switch doctors. To start, they will send off Scott's Tumor to test it for a certain type of enzyme, and we might be on our way into a new study.

So, now we need to pray for a few things - 1) for Scott to qualify for the study (that he will start after the first round of radiation and chemo). 2) his tumor will go away with this first round of chemo/radiation and STAY AWAY for a while. 3) for Scott's health and well being during all of these treatments.

The doctor told us today, instead of asking God why this has happened, we now need to ask him to help heal him of this serious disease! I agree!!

So we ask that everyone keep praying, and pray hard! All of your prayers are welcomed and very much appreciated!

Lots of Love -

Candace and Scott

How it all began...

A few weeks ago, Scott was having some headaches and a little bit of blurry vision. He decided to go to the doctor to get checked out, and she found that his blood pressure was high. She diagnosed him with high blood pressure and prescribed some pills to help lower it. A few days later Scott lost some feeling in the right side of his face. He contacted the doctor to see if maybe it was some sort of side effect of the new medicine. She informed him that it was not a side effect, but she wanted to see him in person to check him out; she feared that it might be a stroke. The next morning Scott went in to the doctor's office and she believed that he was suffering from a case of Bells Palsy (a virus that anyone can catch). Just to be on the safe side, she decided to send him for a CT Scan. Scott and I went to the hospital in Katy to get the scan done a few hours later. On the way home from the scan, the doctor called and said that he had an abnormal scan and that they had found a mass on his brain. She told us to go back to the hospital and check into the Emergency Room, then a few minutes later she called back to inform us that we needed to head to the ER at Memorial Hermann in the Medical Center, because they have a better team of neurosurgeons. At this point Scott and I were completely shocked. We did not know what had just hit us.

After arriving to the hospital in the medical center, we waited in the ER for about 5 hours before a doctor came to speak to us, to explain what was going on. He informed us that Scott would be admitted into the hospital. Scott was admitted later that night and the next day, we finally heard from the doctors. They explained in more detail the seriousness of this tumor. It was in a portion of the brain that deals with vision and some memory and the tumor was so large that it was blocking the fluid pathways in his brain and causing major swelling. The doctor said that if the tumor had gone on much longer without being treated, Scott would have most likely gone to sleep and never woken up. So that being said, they rushed the operation date. Scott had surgery on June 10th. They had Scott in the surgery room for almost 12 hours! The actual surgery lasted for 8 hours. Scott was sent into the ICU unit for a few days, and was discharged from the hospital on June 14th! He has had an AMAZING recovery!!

Last week we met with the Neurology team to discuss the results of the pathology report. Scott was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBN) brain tumor. This is the most aggressive form of cancerous brain tumor that one can have. Fortunately the doctors were able to remove all of the tumor that they could see, which is about 90-95%! The rest will have to be treated with Chemotherapy and Radiation. Scott will start these treatments sometime next week. We will keep everyone informed when anything new transpires. In the meantime, please pray for a full recovery!

Thanks for the love!!

Candace and Scott

This picture was taken right before they took Scott in for surgery...