Update

Harold had his follow up brain scan yesterday to check for the appearance of tumors that may have been too small to detect when he had his gamma knife procedure a month ago. Five were found. It was not unexpected; still we’d hoped this part of the challenge was behind us. We paused for a moment, and then proceeded to next steps.    

Harold will go in for another gamma knife surgery as soon as it can be scheduled. Our neurosurgeon had told us he could manage the brain tumors if we could get Harold’s systemic cancer under control. We now appreciate how this works: Clean up the brain tumors with gamma knife as they appear. Meanwhile, hope the immunotherapy will stop the growth and spread of melanoma in the rest of his body. That would eventually also stop the growth of new tumors in Harold’s brain.  

We still need a miracle for a cure; yet it is wondrous to recognize there is science to support a medical strategy to extend Harold’s life. Without these treatments, Harold’s brain tumors would have been fatal in a couple of months.  With treatments they have extended patients lives at least a year and some are still doing well ten years later. Our neurosurgeon’s success rate has been way above the national average.
 

Friday Harold has his second immunotherapy treatment.