Thank you

The outpouring of concern from so many of you over the past few days has been overwhelming. I know it's difficult to know what to say and many of you want to help and don't know what to do. I recommend continuing to do what you have been doing so well for so long: keeping us in your thoughts -- and prayers, if you choose -- and just letting us know you're still out there. It means so much to me to have your continued support and love, and it makes me feel a lot less lonely when things start to get tough to handle.

I'm still pissed off, but I've been doing some research about various radiation therapies and one of the other LMS patients I met recently had her retired surgeon husband contact me. He suggested that we consult with a neurosurgeon to see if the skull mets can be surgically removed. I plan to bring that up with the radiation oncologist tomorrow, as the head of the neurosurgery department at MSKCC apparently works closely with the radiation department. Perhaps he can steer us in the right direction.

I've also put in a call to Massachusetts General Hospital's Proton Radiosurgery center to see if they treat metastases. Loma Linda (California) has a proton radiation center but they only treat primary tumors, not mets. I hope to hear back shortly. Proton radiosurgery targets the exact area of the tumor using various methods (including CT scans and MRIs) rather than blasting away at a more general area (traditional radiation). Since we're talking about mets so close to my brain here, I would prefer the more targeted approach.

I'll let you know when I have more information. In the meantime, again, thank you so very much. I wish I could give each one of you a hug.