Wonderful news about my Brain MRI!

Today (Monday 12/15/25) I had a brain MRI and met with Drs Ho and Hertan who are my neuro-oncology team.  The MRI showed that all of the 20 tumors they found in October had either disappeared or shrunk (and probably are just scar tissue now).  Moreover, and more importantly, there were no new tumors, so the Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) has been effective. They decided to stop my Bevacizumab (Avastin) infusions as there is no inflammation in my brain!  I'll have another MRI in 2 months and if necessary I could restart the Bevacizumab, but it probably won't be needed. 

This is a turning point in my journey as the brain inflammation was what caused all of my mobility challenges (and other neurological adverse effects). We now have evidence that the immunotherapy is effective on all of the tumors in my body and seems to be stopping any new tumors from appearing.

I'm also thankful that I didn't spend any time worrying about things that could have gone wrong. Even if they had found new tumors, I know my medical team would come up with another plan to treat it, but luckily they don't have to come up with a new plan! So I didn't feel a need to worry!

I have had some adverse effects from the Pembrolizumab.... the skin is peeling off of my finger tips and upper arms, but these are minor inconveniences with no pain and easily treatable with Aquaphor (or vaseline). There may be other adverse effects in the future, but most are treatable! 

My goal is to be cancer free by summer, and I think it may be possible; though with stage IV lung cancer, it often comes back after remission.  I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

I also met with the Human Resources staff today and they suggested I go on Paid Family Medical Leave next semester and retire in May 2026, then I would get a year's salary as severance and a year of medical coverage. My last paycheck from Brandeis would be in May 2027. This makes my cancer treatment much easier as I can easily stick with my current medical team (whom I love) for the next year and a half.

My next CT scan of my chest, abdomen, and pelvis is Jan 10, 2026. my next immunotherapy infusion in 20 January 2026,  and my next brain MRI is Feb 9, 2026. So I can now focus on regaining my full mobility and working on my Mastery Learning App and getting some fun out of life!

The photo shows the same MRI slice of my brain 2 months apart. The right is from October and you can clearly see 4 tumors, the largest being about 22mm (close to an inch) across. The left image is from today and the two smaller tumors are gone and the two bigger ones are reduced to scar tissue. Moreover, there were no new tumors at all!