Not the news we were hoping for. .

Well, the MRI scan results are in. We were all mislead a bit by how well Dad was looking and feeling with the latest results. The scan shows that we're dealing with a very aggressive tumor that has grown approximately 3x in the past couple of months. They now think that it's a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) tumor, which is a downgrade from what we thought we were dealing with.

Chemo and radiation treatments doesn't appear to be as effective as we'd like, so we are looking into next steps and the next line of treatment. Our first step is to go up to the Mayo Clinic on May 4th (first available appointment) and talk to the neuro team there, including being evaluated for neurosurgery for a partial tumor resection. Dad wasn't a candidate for surgery before due to the location of the original tumor, but they want to do a second evaluation with the neurosurgeon to determine if it's now an option. They're also discussing new chemo drugs.

Dad remains upbeat and positive despite the latest news, and please know that we all appreciate the thoughts and prayers that are coming in by phone, email, and even Facebook! We take great comfort in knowing that we have the best medical teams working on the next phase, and we all will continue to do whatever we can to deliver on Dad's request for 20 more years.

In the meantime, he continues his strength training program, talking to a large number of you on the phone, and spending time with the family. He has a granddaughter coming into this world in a few weeks, so we have yet another positive event to bolster everyone's spirits.