Its true cancer has a mind of its own ~

And, despite our recent optimism, we have received news that my Dad has a new tumor on the left side of his skull. Due to some new areas of swelling, the MRI scheduled for the 8th was moved up to last Wedensday. We received news late on Wed. that the MRI showed a new tumor had developed, but because of the holidays, we weren't able to get additional information until today. Here is what we now know, in layman's terms of course. (I feel like the doctor should review this to make sure I'm conveying everything correctly, but here goes...)
Several Doctors have now had the opportunity to review the MRI and have come to a consensus that this is not a new cancer metastasis, which is significant. They believe the cells were always there, but were located deeper than what could be seen. The radiation that he received this summer would not have gone deep enough to hit these cells, as they radiated as far in as they felt they could go and not damage the brain. Simply put, these are exsiting cells that have formed into a tumor at a new site in his left temple.
This new tumor is treatable with Gamma Knife radiation, which is different than the type of radiation they used this summer. They will use this type because the tumor is rapid in growth and is getting dangerously close to the brain. If necessary, surgery is an option, but they would like to proceed with the Gamma Knife treatment as it is less invasive/risky. He will have this procedure next Monday, January 12th at 6 am. The results won't be known for another 3-5 months, however, even without the expectation of immediate results they will be doing more frequent MRI scans. This will help to discern if there have been other undetectable cells lurking around that decided to morph into yet another tumor and provide swift treatment in such case. All of this will be clarified at a face to face Doctor's appointment this Wedensday (1/7). It will be good follow up as there will have been some time to process this information and a better opportunity for questions and answers, so if I've misrepresented anything, we'll let you know!
The following is information on the original tumor: It has shrunk about 30%. They would have liked to have seen greater reduction at this time, but do not believe that the results are abnormal in relation to renal cell cancer's typical response to radiation. They still expect to see continued dying of the tumor and are hopeful that within the next 6 months, the total reduction will be around 70 percent.
Lastly, the full body PET scan is still scheduled for this Thursday. We are hopeful that it will show no other cancer anywhere else in his body.
All in all, there are nuggets of good news mixed in with the bad news of another tumor and we are pressing on. We are thankful that there are treatment options to continue fighting the cancer. We pray that the new tumor responds to the Gamma Knife radiation, that the original tumor continues to shrink, that there are no more lurking cancer cells and that the PET scan is clear. Thank you for your continued love and support - we will provide another update later in the week. ~ Tami and family