Casey Quinn – My story about surviving cancer

Although yesterday offered some good news, today still started with a bit of nervousness. A lot of it came from the unexpected ultrasound of my abdomen, the rest from knowing I had four more doctors to speak to before knowing that I was really in the best shape I could be. The day ended in the best way possible – knowing that, given what I’ve gone through in the last three months, I was in the best shape possible.

I started off with Dr. Anderson, my oncologist from Mayo Clinic that moved to Houston to join the MD Anderson team. He was the guy that convinced me to come here for a second opinion in the first place. We discussed some minor issues that I’ve been having with my amputated leg, and some possible fractures that I’ve received as a result of it. Having the chance to catch up with him was a bit of a treat.

Our second visit was with Dr. Wolff who was quick to repeat the great news from yesterday… that the MRI looked as good as it could. It was all I wanted to hear. Just him agreeing with the news from yesterday was enough to leave me confident that I was ready to move on with life and not worry about all of this so much.

We then met with Dr. Slopis, a neurologist with a great sense of humor, and very complimentary of my striking new haircut, which I appreciated. (Sometimes it feels like something people only stare at, rather than making good jokes about it with me!) Anyway, we talked about the medication I’m on and how leaving it as-is is probably the best approach for now. As the next couple months pass, my brain will adapt more to the surgery and now radiation and hopefully calm down a bit and make seizures less likely. Dr. Slopis made some incredibly kind comments about how amazing it is that I’m here, and how I’ve survived this in such a great way. It made me feel pretty damn good. He’s a great guy.

Finally, we raced over to the Proton Center to meet with Dr. Mahajan. It was great getting back to the place I spent so much time during those six weeks, and to see the people that made it so great. Everyone remembered my face, my name, and they seemed equally happy to see me. We met briefly with Dr. Mahajan – she was excited to have seen the news from my MRI. We got to take a bit of a tour of the proton center, as Dad hadn’t seen any of it yet.

And when it was all done, when we left the center, it was like a million pounds of weight came off of me, of us. I’m free for a while. No more medical appointments for more than a month!

The plan as it stands is to have monthly MRI appointments, but the next two will be in Minneapolis. I’ll return and meet with the whole team again in August, and then be down here every other month.

So that’s the news. The GOOD news. Thanks for the support, as usual. Love you all.

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