Dana's in Remission!!

What does this mean? When a tumor is in remission or is stable, it means the tumor cells have entered a phase in which they generally have stopped growing or multiplying. This may or may not mean that these tumor cells will never grow again. In some cases, the tumor has actually been destroyed and the area it occupied in the brain is composed only of dead tissue, called necrosis. In other circumstances, tumor cells remain alive or viable, and retain the capacity to grow actively again, meaning that the tumor may recur at a later date. Unfortunately im not sure which is the case but it is clear that this is great news. The tumor isnt growing and its been nearly a year! The best news is that while shes in remission; no more chemo! Since there is sadly no cure for cancer, remission is the ultimate goal. Everyone that has Dana in their hopes, prayers and thoughts can keep it up this time asking that the tumor is dead, wont grow, and wont resurface elsewhere. Its time to celebrate! Congratulations Dana we love you.

Holiday update

So its been a while since Ive updated Dana's status and i wanted to let everyone know how things are going. They had to move Dana's chemo to December because of a low blood count so she will have her last round in January if all goes well. She recently caught a cold but shes getting over it. Shes been continuing to work, though now from home and putting in as many hours as she can. She will probably have to wait til sometime in February for her MRI, so until then we dont know much about the progress of the tumor (if any). Im constantly impressed with her strength and drive. Dana's birthday is this month (Dec 24th) and while this is exciting, i hope that with Christmas shopping and planning, her birthday, the onset of winter and her job that things dont get too overwhelming. If anyone would like to make a donation there is a paypal link on previous blog posts, just click and it will allow you to donate with a credit or debit card. I encourage you to read the previous posts in this blog to see how far Dana has come with this and to see the helpful links (like that to her facebook page) and how well her trivia night benefit went over last year. I hope this Holiday season that Dana gets plenty of rest, time with her family and friends and everything she deserves.

Dana's progress Oct 2011

It has been much too long since the last update of Dana's progress. She has been very busy with her job and family, there was also little new news as she was doing a double dose of chemo and had an MRI on Oct 25th. She has been having headaches and some nausea. The results of the MRI shows that the treatments have been successful, as expected by the doctors, there is no new growth.

She will continue with a double dose of chemo for three more months ending in January 2012. At that time a new MRI will be done and Dana's brain will get a rest. Dana has two types of very aggressive cancer that will be closely watched with a MRI every three months in 2012.

Dana started a new job just 2 days before she was diagnosed with brain cancer. Her goal, when accepting this job was to work from home in August. With all she has gone through, she was still able to reach this goal and is now working from home...since September just one month past her goal. She's been working really hard and fitting in time for the treatments despite the side effects. I know what a relief it is for her to be home with her kids as much as possible and working from home will be a great change in the winter time from driving 30 mins each way.

I remember how frightened we all were when we initially heard the news of her cancer. I never expected her to be doing so well nor being so driven in her regular life. Shes handling everything better than I'm sure most of us would have. She has a really emotionally supportive group of family and friends. Thank you to everyone that has helped her emotionally, financially, and physically. Though i have to say she is extremely self sufficient. She's always taken care of herself in a way that was well beyond her years and now is no exception. Strength runs through her and it wont surprise me one bit if her MRI is positive in 2012. It never hurts to stack the deck so if anyone wants to send prayers or positive thoughts and actions her way its very much appreciated.

Update from Dana's Mom

For those of you who haven't received an email from Dana's Mom directly, I will post it below. Dana is still fighting and says she mostly feels ok. I know she is working still and with the double dose of Chemo is feeling tired.


"July 21, 2011

Its been a while since I have updated Dana’s progress.
She has completed her 6 week radiation and chemotherapy.
Currently the brain cancer is still there, however not grown!
She is on a program of: 6 months she will take double dose of chemotherapy for 5 consecutive days a month, each month.
In January 2012 there will be a new MRI - This will determine if the cancer is grown, stable or gone.

Currently we are very actively looking into trials that would take place next year. Dana is in touch with Duke University and has forwarded all her records to them. They were received on July 5th, 2011. There is other specific items that they need and we will get them and forward to Duke University.



We have been doing much research. I feel my most important role in this journey is Dana’s Mind-Body-Soul.

Dana will beat this terrible monster, she is the strongest woman I have ever known. Each and every prayer is so much appreciated, so please continue, God is listening!!

I am especially Thankful to my loving family and friends for all the support and prayers. Ella"

Thanks to Dana's Mom for keeping us up to date!

Dana's MRI results

Great news! None of the removed tumor has grown back! There was some of the original tumor that couldnt be removed when they did the biopsy because it was intertwined with her brain in places that control her memory and function. As Dana pointed out, you cant see everything that is or is not there so as a precaution she will continue with Chemo 5 days a month for 6 months to try and kill what they cant see and hopefully prevent anything new from growing. She will have more MRI's along the way to make sure there arent any negative changes. Its a big relief to know that the tumor didnt grow back. Five days of chemo a month is better than 5 days a week! Thank you for all that sent kind thoughts into the universe!

Think shrinking thoughts!

If you've been following this blog, Dana's Facebook page or just communicating regularly with Dana you probably know that Dana has finished her chemotherapy and radiation treatments for the moment. Its hard to keep track of people sometimes which is the reason for this blog; to keep everyone in the loop. It definitely scary for someone close to you to be in this situation and you worry about how shes doing but cant call her every second so I feel when i have any new information it doesnt hurt to pass it on to all the people that love her and wish her the best. I saw Dana today she looks strong and is still toughing out her job. She told me that she goes for her MRI on June 14th. This MRI is very important because since the therapies are over we need to know if the tumor has finally given up or if its growing back. Lets all hope that Dana's tumor has not grown at all and that her need for more chemo and or radiation is over. There is always the possibility for the worst but in that case she already has a plan of action which just means more therapy for a longer amount of time. Dana deserves a break, so please send out kind loving thoughts or prayers that no more treatment is needed.

Update

What do we know?

Lets go back and review what has happened and what may happen with Dana McDonald

1) Dana started getting headaches on a regular basis, when she told her doctor he sent her to have an MRI

2) Dana had an MRI and they found a brain tumor, they couldn't determine whether it was cancerous with just the MRI so they had her schedule a biopsy

3) Dana had the biopsy which basically is where they crack open your skull and remove as much of the brain tumor as possible and test the brain tissue for cancer. They then shave the head and staple it closed.

4) The testing took about a week and they determined that she had stage 3 mixed oligodendrogliomas. there are 4 stages for brain cancer. The mildest cancer being 1 and the most aggressive being 4.

5) Before all of this Dana had gotten a new job, something that she was excited about and very ready for. Unfortunately when she started, insurance didnt start immediately and for a time she had to pay COBRA insurance. COBRA is an temporary coverage insurance that lets you continue your insurance from a previous job to a new job without a lapse. The problem with COBRA is that its expensive, when you are working your employer pays a large percentage of your insurance. But when you're not that all falls on you.

6) When the biopsy was done and they removed the tumor, the doctor, despite being the best in town, could not remove the whole thing. Why? because some was intertwined with her brain and removing it would affect brain function. Dana remarkably bounced back from the surgery because she had such a great doctor who knew what he could safely remove. She remembered everything and didnt have loss of body control.

7)When they determined the tumor was cancerous the doctor suggested a chemotherapy pill and radiation to keep the tumor from growing back to its original size. She would need both for 6 weeks Monday through Friday.

8)When Dana's Friends and family heard about her cancer we all immediately started worrying, calling her, thinking about what to do, what we could do and her close friend Mandy came up with the idea to do a benefit, a trivia night to raise money for Dana and her kids. Friends and family joined up and threw an impressive benefit and raised a substantial amount for them. It was amazing how well everything turned out and the community really came together to show their love.

9) Dana completed the chemo/radiation therapies last Monday. In June she will go back to have another MRI, if its determined that the tumor has grown she will need to have a double dose of chemotherapy for 1 week out of each month for a range of 6 mos to 1 year depending on what her doctors suggest.

Lets keep our fingers crossed that the MRI shows no growth and that all is good. Dana has a Facebook page where friends and family notate updates and leave Dana our best wishes, you can add her at: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002091743341
We have also set up a paypal account for donations, just click the link below.