Good Test Results!!!!!!

The results are back and they look good. Lisa has had significant improvement. There is no new sign of disease. Some areas in her right leg still show activity, but definitely less than when we started. Abdomen looks clear. There are some spots on her right lung, but they don't believe those are cancer....they think it might be some sort of infection so Lisa will be going for blood work tomorrow. If she does not have an infection, the plan is to start her on the vaccine trial on Monday. If there is an infection we will need to clear that up before treatment begins because once she receives the high dose chemo, she won't have any immunity to fight infection.

So....the news is good! I still feel like I'm holding my breath...it's been so long, I think I've forgotten how to breathe.

For those of you who want want the more technical results...here's the written synopsis from the doctor (thank goodness she called us to explain it!)

MIBG:Significant interval improvement in MIBG avid disease. No new foci of abnormal MIBG activity. Faint residual MIBG uptake in the right proximal tibia, decreased compared to the prior study. Interval resolution of the midabdominal retroperitoneal MIBG avid neoplasm.MRI:1. No evidence of recurrent abdominal or pelvic neoplasm is identified.2. Diffuse bone marrow signal abnormality, possibly due to marrow reconversion. Superimposed upon this, there are focal areas of signal abnormality and enhancement within the bilateral proximal femurs, iliac wings and thoracolumbar vertebral bodies, as described above. Residual metastatic disease cannot be excluded. If clinically indicated, follow-up MIBG scan might be considered for further evaluation.

PET scan:1. New right posterior upper lobe lung nodule with increased FDG uptake suspicious for a metastatic focus.----However when I talked to the radiologist he said more likely infection as neuroblastoma does NOT usually go to the lung. 2. Interval resolution of intense FDG uptake in the distal femur and proximal tibia with minimal residual metabolic activity. This may be physiologic or may represent minimal residual disease