My liver is a winner...

 OK... time for a quick game... which liver would you want to have? 

(Note: the liver is the organ on the left side of each image -- these are a cross section of my abdomen.  If a magician were to saw me in half and turn me sideways, this is what you would see!)

*** scroll down for the answer ***

If you picked the liver on the bottom, YOU ARE A WINNER!!!!


The image on the top is from Sep 3. The liver is the large organ on the left side of the image. The darker spots on it are the bad stuff. Yeah.... there are quite a few of them... can you find all 8 or 9 visible spots?

The image on the bottom is from Nov 30. Even without an MD, it's pretty easy to see the difference. This is remarkable improvement over the past 3 months!
When comparing the first CT scan from June to the September scan, it was hard to tell the difference. Dr said it was good progress and I definitely trust him, but it was not a whole lot to get excited about. This time it's a totally different story.... and it is so much more comforting to really see the progress for myself.

Because it's working so well, we are going to try to stay on the Abraxane for a bit more (maybe another month or two). Hopefully, the neuropathy in my fingers and toes will remain manageable. At that point, we may again be thinking about trying hormonal therapy for a bit (to give my body a break from the chemo and hoping that it will maintain the result for a while). We'll have to figure out a few things to determine the best plan -- the most likely hormonal drugs are only for post-menopausal women... not a problem now as I'm back in "chemo-pause" but if my estrogen levels come back up when we stop the chemo, we would have to think about how to supress my ovaries... but in the grand scheme... good problems to have!