First, Roberto is doing great. He's awake the whole day and joking around like his old self. He's even lamenting about prematurely buzzing his hair since it hasn't started falling out yet.
Second, I worked my computer skillz and made .avi files of the CT scans. These are scans from June 13 and July 19. Roberto has NOT had a CT scan since his chemotherapy treatment started. I thought the movies would be a good way for everyone to visually see what happened inside Roberto in one month's time.
Let's set the scene. It's early June and Roberto has a small-but-chronic cough. He complains about feeling liquid inside his right lung but still managed to run 18+ miles with Pedro and Chris for a Western States 100 training run the previous weekend without incident. I finally convince Roberto to see a doctor who orders a CT scan. The scan shows there is a large mass in the space between his right lung and his heart. The large black spaces are the lungs. The right side of the body is on the left of the image (trust me).
In the following weeks, Roberto sees a thoracic surgeon, gets a needle biospy, and finally consults with an oncologist who recommends chemotherapy immediately. At this point, Roberto is having difficulty speaking without coughing up a storm. Roberto gets a CT scan on July 19th, right before chemotherapy starts on July 22nd. The CT scan shows us that his heart and bronchial tube have shifted to the left and there doesn't seem to be much remaining of his right lung.
Here's another view (at the end is the same scan but with less contrast):
What does the tumor look like now that Roberto has completed one cycle of chemotherapy drugs? We don't know. The next CT scan will be some time between the second and third cycles. The doctors were right about Roberto improving quickly; I do notice that Roberto has stopped coughing as frequently, he can talk now without coughing and has an easier time walking up stairs.
We've come a long way after a single week of chemotherapy drugs. Let's stay Robostrong and finish this!
Second, I worked my computer skillz and made .avi files of the CT scans. These are scans from June 13 and July 19. Roberto has NOT had a CT scan since his chemotherapy treatment started. I thought the movies would be a good way for everyone to visually see what happened inside Roberto in one month's time.
Let's set the scene. It's early June and Roberto has a small-but-chronic cough. He complains about feeling liquid inside his right lung but still managed to run 18+ miles with Pedro and Chris for a Western States 100 training run the previous weekend without incident. I finally convince Roberto to see a doctor who orders a CT scan. The scan shows there is a large mass in the space between his right lung and his heart. The large black spaces are the lungs. The right side of the body is on the left of the image (trust me).
In the following weeks, Roberto sees a thoracic surgeon, gets a needle biospy, and finally consults with an oncologist who recommends chemotherapy immediately. At this point, Roberto is having difficulty speaking without coughing up a storm. Roberto gets a CT scan on July 19th, right before chemotherapy starts on July 22nd. The CT scan shows us that his heart and bronchial tube have shifted to the left and there doesn't seem to be much remaining of his right lung.
Here's another view (at the end is the same scan but with less contrast):
What does the tumor look like now that Roberto has completed one cycle of chemotherapy drugs? We don't know. The next CT scan will be some time between the second and third cycles. The doctors were right about Roberto improving quickly; I do notice that Roberto has stopped coughing as frequently, he can talk now without coughing and has an easier time walking up stairs.
We've come a long way after a single week of chemotherapy drugs. Let's stay Robostrong and finish this!
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