Another Infusion, Another Reason for Hope

Today we're at UCHealth for Dana's second Avastin infusion, exactly as prescribed by her Duke neuro-oncology team. Based on how she responded after her first infusion, we're hopeful she'll be feeling pretty good over the next 2–3 days.

The last six weeks have stretched us in ways we never expected. We've been navigating the uncertainty surrounding Dana's symptoms while waiting for the answer that only her next MRI can provide. In just 8 days, we'll learn whether the changes seen on her last scan were treatment-related inflammation from the clinical trial - or new tumor progression.

The encouraging news is that Dana has experienced only very intermittent and mild symptoms, and the improvement we've seen since starting Avastin gives us genuine reason for hope. While we'll know more after the MRI, we're feeling increasingly optimistic that we're dealing with inflammation rather than tumor growth.

Today even gave us a little sense of normalcy. One of our favorite traditions whenever we're in Durham for appointments is grabbing Tropical Smoothie for lunch, and we decided there was no reason to skip it just because we're doing treatment closer to home. Some traditions are worth keeping, no matter where the infusion chair happens to be.

We're so grateful for every prayer, message, meal, and word of encouragement. Your love has carried us through these last several weeks more than you'll ever know.

As we count down these next 8 days, we're choosing hope. Please continue praying that Dana's MRI confirms what we're believing - that this is inflammation responding to treatment exactly as hoped. Above all, we give all the glory to God for carrying us this far and for His constant faithfulness. We pray that He continues to place His cloak of protection around Dana, surrounds our family with His peace, and strengthens us with unwavering hope and faith for whatever lies ahead.

And here's hoping Avastin keeps up its winning streak: do your job, keep the side effects to yourself, and let Dana keep feeling like herself. We'd call that a pretty great deal.

Thank you for walking this journey with us. We'll share another update after the MRI.