June 4, 2008
Dear CCAM Partners and Friends,
The MRI scans done yesterday show that the tumor looks basically the same as it did three weeks ago. Again, the good news is that it has not grown any larger.
Dr. Aldana has ordered some lab work to assess Buntheep's general health after 7 months of fighting the tumor through various medical procedures: 7 surgeries, multiple blood transfusions, many weeks battling infections and lying in a supine position due to a spinal fluid leak which necessitated a lumbar drain, 5 weeks of radiation treatments twice a day, and most recently the beginning of daily injections of the drug Calcitonin.
Please pray that Buntheep will continue to adjust to this medication and that the side effects will gradually lessen or disappear. Pray also that the drug will begin to impact the tumor, causing it to shrink. She had received only 11 daily injections prior to the most recent MRI.
Buntheep's pituitary gland is still being threatened by the tumor pressing on it. Perhaps the radiation may have affected that gland too. Last month, she did not have a menstrual period. Some of the blood tests ordered will check her pituitary and thyroid functions. Please pray that these glands will remain healthy and that her normal periods will resume. We continue to trust God for the final positive outcome!
In His Hands,
Gioia and Buntheep