Former Louisiana Democratic Gov. Kathleen Blanco has been receiving treatment in Memphis for a rare form of eye cancer. BayouBuzz.com posted today an excerpt from the treatment journal that Blanco is keeping at CaringBridge.org. The odds of radiation reducing these tumors are very high, but a small percent of patients do not respond well and have to have the cancerous eye removed, afterall. I was praying I not fall into that rare number, so with some last minute nervousness, Raymond, Karmen and Monique and I left for Memphis. After ultrasound and other eye tests I was relieved to learn that the tumor in my eye which first measured at 6mm high is now 4.5mm. Shrinking is a good thing and I pray this continues. Hallelujah! I still have swelling in the macula and Dr. Wilson gave me a shot (yep, in the eyeball!--OUCH! ) to help the swelling go away. Of course my next prayer mission is for the swelling to go down as this is what is affecting the clarity of my vision.
I will continue to see my local eye doctor for periodic exams and return to Memphis in December for comprehensive tests like CT scans, liver studies, etc., to detect the presence of matastasis if it exists (I PRAY NOT!) and to determine whether the tumor continues to shrink (I PRAY SO!)
The Dr. Wilson to whom Blanco refers is Dr. Matthew Wilson at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center's Hamilton Eye Institute (last mentioned on this blog when the teenage boy who shed tears of blood was to be treated there). One of her journal entries says she chose Wilson from among several doctors because she could get fastest onto his schedule.
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