This is from an article entitled

MRI successfully gauges breast cancer treatment response

——————————————————————————————–

Chemotherapy is designed to diminish tumor size and reduce the number of blood vessels feeding the tumor. The study, conducted at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center in Brighton, Mass., found that contrast-enhanced MR imaging is a reliable, non-invasive way to measure blood flow to the tumor, thus gauging the success of chemotherapy.

“The more vessels a tumor has, the more likely it is to take up the MR contrast agent. The more vascular a tumor is, the more likely it will be to light up on the scan,” said study co-author Priscilla J. Slanetz, M.D., M.P.H., director of breast imaging at Caritas St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center. “MR’s high temporal resolution (ability to assess how rapidly a tumor takes up the contrast agent) is important in determining therapeutic response rather than relying solely on tumor shape and margins,” she said.

———————————————————————————–

And so – there you have it. When I look at the MRI from July 5th I see a very bright tumor. When I look at the August 25th MRI I see a faint tumor – decidedly NOT bright or less bright than in July. And now I know that the second MRI is actually indicative of a postive response to my nutritionist’s treatment as well as my own diet and lifestyle changes. Looks like I may still get another MRI – probably a month from now – to see an even FAINTER tumor than before – hopefully!