Much has changed in our lives over that last two years. Travis has retired from the Marine Corps. We moved out of our old apartment into the one that we are living in now. Travis had CyberKnife radiation. Victoria started middle school. We received AMAZING NEWS that Travis’ pesky Schwannoma tumor succumbed to Dr. Adler’s treatment. NO MORE TUMOR!!!! I started back at work and went back to college.

Travis accepted his dream job at Northrop Grumman. He entered through a wonderful program called Operation Impact. Since retiring from the Marine Corps. Travis has been seeing new doctors. He struggled through Methadone withdrawal and is now 100% METHADONE FREE. He has a prescription for Vicodin to use for breakthrough pain but he has not taken any since June 30th. He has come a long way from his daily doses of 3000mg of Neurontin and 10mg of Methadone.

Our offer was accepted on our first home. (We are in escrow right now.)

Travis came down with Diverticulitis and then suffered from a secondary infection as a result of the antibiotics given to him to treat the Diverticulitis.

So much has happened over the last two years.  Life sure has not been easy but things seem to be turning around.  We are learning to see the glass as half full rather than half empty.  I expect that we will continue to face hurdles but what I have learned is there is nothing that Travis and I cannot accomplish if we put our hearts into it.

In my opinion, this is proof that CyberKnife radiation works.  It is the best treatment for a schwannoma brain tumor.  If you have a tumor or know somebody who does then ask the  doctor is CyberKnife would work for you.

I want to write more but I donated blood today and my finger is really sore from the prick.  I will try and write more soon.

You can’t ask for anymore than that.  I also got excited thinking that Travis was one of the patients included in the study.  We have not confirmed that Travis was one of the individuals discussed in the article but he will be asking his surgeon tomorrow on his visit.

I will paste the article below and a link to where I found it.

http://journals.lww.com/neurosurgery/Abstract/2009/02001/Cyberknife_Radiosurgery_for_Trigeminal_Schwannomas.4.aspx

Cyberknife Radiosurgery for Trigeminal Schwannomas
Sakamoto, Gordon T.; Borchers, D. John III; Xiao, Furen; Yang, Hee-Jin; Chang, Steven D.; Adler, John R. Jr.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Trigeminal schwannomas (TS) are benign tumors that are managed by surgical resection and/or stereotactic radiosurgery. Most radiosurgical series report results using the gamma knife. The CyberKnife (Accuray, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA) is a frameless, robotic stereotactic radiosurgical system. In this series, we report our experience using the CyberKnife in the treatment of TS.
METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records and diagnostic imaging in 13 consecutive patients with TS who were treated with the CyberKnife from 2003 to 2007. Seven patients had a previous surgical resection. The mean tumor volume was 6.3 mL (range, 0.39-19.98 mL), and the mean marginal dose was 18.5 Gy. Six of the tumors were treated in a single session. The mean clinical follow-up period was 21.8 months (range, 7-53 months).
RESULTS: In this series, the tumor control rate was 100%. The average reduction in tumor volume was 45% (range, 14-98%). A modest improvement in facial pain was noted in 4 of the 6 patients who presented with this symptom. One patient had improvement in facial numbness, and another had improvement in pretreatment headaches. One patient developed jaw weakness and facial dysesthesia, and another patient developed asymptomatic radiation necrosis.
CONCLUSION: Although the length of follow-up is limited, we report our initial experience with CyberKnife treatment of TS. Our results demonstrate tumor control rates and clinical outcomes that parallel those of previous reports using gamma knife radiosurgery; however, long-term follow-up studies are needed.

Stanford Trip

We have GREAT NEWS.  We had an appointment with Travis’s neurosurgeon and he believes that the tumor resection and radiation was a success.  Dr. Adler does not think that the tumor will grow back.  We are ecstatic!!! 

My Classes

I am almost down with this semester.  Many times I have felt like giving up.  We just have so much going on.  But I remind myself that I am a role model to Victoria and that the more education I have, the more I can help others.  Those two thoughts keep me on track.

The Kiosk

Many of you know Travis has started www.tntride.com back in October 2005, just a couple of months before he was diagnosed.  Though he has had some progress he has not been able to fully dedicate himself to it because of his illness and treatment.  If you notice some of the pictures just days after his surgery he still continued working.  Anyway, we proudly opened a kiosk on MCAS Miramar in front of the Exchange.  Travis and I are both really proud of this accomplishment.  So far we have spent two weekends there and both ended being a success.  We are going to be there again next weekend too.  I hope that this kiosk will end up supplementing Travis’s income once he retires.

My Employment Situation

Speaking of income I have had a difficult time finding a job.  I applied to a bunch of jobs here.  I turned down one offer because I was almost guaranteed a position with another company.  After months of negotiations and jumping through hoops I was told that the company has a hiring freeze and they will contact me as soon as that changes but they are not sure how long that will be.  It worries me because without that job we will most likely end up moving back to Los Angeles unless something else comes through for Travis or I.  I hate to think about that so I am just taking things day by day.

Something Else Concerning Me

A Schwannoma brain tumor is a VERY VERY RARE type of a tumor.  Recently I was contacted by another wife whose husband also has a Schwannoma and is stationed at MCAS Miramar.  What are the chances of that occurring?  Travis also worked with another Marine who was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  It makes me wonder if there is a link between brain tumors and the military.  I certainly hope not but I am going to do some research and see what I can find.