Isla had her third MRI (in Adelaide) on Thursday 25 October. She will continue to have MRIs about every 6 months for a couple of years. This just confirms the information we receive from the EUAs and also checks that her brain is still clear of any tumous, as they can still appear in the pineal gland (as is in trilateral retinoblastoma).
Waiting, waiting....
The following day we had our first review, post chemo, with the oncologist. The results from the MRI were good. Isla’s brain is still clear and the large tumour in the right eye has actually reduced in size slightly since the last MRI (early July – last chemo was late July). Her physical exam was good and the oncologist is really happy with how she is going/developing. We also had a blood test performed on that day.
The oncologist rang me a couple days later to confirm the blood results were all normal. Chemotherapy can actually sometimes cause leukemia, so they keep a close eye on her blood counts to monitor for this. It can also cause damage to the liver and kidneys, so blood tests to check electrolytes and liver function were also performed. All normal at this stage.
I mentioned in a previous update that our paediatrician wanted to give Isla iron supplements. She was a little low in iron earlier in the year, but since she was still going through chemo and had only just started solids we were going to retest her iron levels once chemo had finished. This was tested again and is now normal also.
© Alison Davey 2021