I just got home from sitting with Kristina at NARTI. Brian’s mom and dad were there, and so was Dean (Randy’s dad). The pastor from Brian’s parents church stopped by and prayed with all of us. They did some general paperwork stuff, then we were taken to an office where we watched a short video about NARTI and what to expect with radiation treatments and how they are done. It was very interesting. Then we met Dr. Smith, the radiologist oncologist- or something like that. He was very nice and spent about 30 minutes or so going over everything and answering our questions. He said that there are actually THREE places in Brian’s brain that they will be treating. The largest tumor is in the back left side and is about the size of a golf ball. There is also one in the front right side that is smaller, and then he also mentioned that there was an area on the skull that had cancerous cells on/in it. They hope to start the actual radiation treatments tomorrow- or at the latest on Monday. He will go everyday- Monday thru Friday for about 4 weeks. The treatment only takes about 20 minutes from the time you walk in the door. He will be able to work, and should feel very little discomfort. They main side effects will be losing his hair and fatigue, and possibly some slight hearing loss or early formation of cataracts. Dr. Smith was very optimistic, but was also careful to say that Melanoma is the hardest cancer to treat. It is very unpredictable, but they are going to be very aggressive with the radiation treatments.

Brian & Kris are meeting with Dr. Rosenfeld, their primary oncologist right now- they fully expect him to order a full-body PET scan to make sure there aren’t any other areas of concern. They are very optimistic and are trusting in the Lord to see them through this. Kris told me this morning that she is much better prepared this time. Brian is on a steroid to help minimize the headaches and it seems to be working. He plans to continue working, which the dr. said was fine- most people are able to carry on with the normal daily stuff. He did advise Brian to drive as little as possible- due to the possibility of seizures (you never know when dealing with the brain).

That’s about all for now- I’ll update again when we know more. Thanks so much for all of your prayers.
Cynthia