“Stable.” That was my NO’s (neuro-oncologist) assessment of my last MRI. I had the MRI on Thursday, August 22, and met with him the next Wednesday, August 28. “Stable.” From what I gather, that means things look the same. Almost exactly the same. The cancer is not growing. My NO was almost vehement about how great an MRI it was. That’s fine. I’ll accept that perspective. As was the case before, there are a few spots that we will continue to monitor but they are nothing overly concerning at this point. At the next appointment, September 11, an appointment that won’t be dominated by distracting MRI pictures, we’ll get more information about exactly what “stable” means.
I mean, I know the dictionary definition of “stable” in the English Language - steady, firm, fixed. Or it could be a place to keep a horse. However, specifically in this context, applied to me, what does it mean? Should I try a little more, should a try a lot more, should I try just to maintain the status quo, should I try to improve drastically? Where is a good target for me to aim at? My NO seemed very pleased with the results so that’s very good! From his experience, which I don’t share, “stable” is a very good thing it seems. Also, the chemo brings my platelets and white blood cell counts down. It makes me fatigued. Not narcoleptic tired but lacking energy. Sapped energy might make new additions more difficult to implement. My energy level makes setting low sights more acceptable. It’s like I constantly have a bad hypnotist around. “You’re getting sleepy - except you’re just fatigued and unmotivated, you’re not actually tired.” That lethargy, partially caused by the low blood counts, means that my next round of chemo, just like my last, will be delayed. The delay gives my blood counts the chance to rebound before the chemo knocks them down again. My next round of chemo would be round 6. There will either be 6 or 8 rounds total. I’ll find out more at my appointment on September 11. I also plan to find out more about what “stable” means in my specific context - although I’m pretty sure it doesn’t involve a horse.