Update on Eye Check-up

Update on Eye Check-up

Before we get into the update on my eye check-up, I hope you enjoyed our taste of spring this week. Now, can we have more please! We’re really looking forward to a full warm Ontario summer. And simply can’t wait to get into some cottaging and other summer activities! Normal life again. 

I’ve been feeling really good. I’m trying to build my running back up again, and can do a slow 6 kilometres now. Anyone looking to do a 5k race in June, or 10k later in the summer, please let me know! I’d like to have a goal to work towards and would love to do a race with friends. Maybe even some fundraising for Cindy’s BadA$$ Fundraiser too.

The Appointment

I had my scheduled check-up with Dr. Hooper at Ivey Institute in London on Thursday. Both the oncologist and ophthalmologist wanted to delay a bit longer after the stem cell transplant to get the body to “do its thing”. This was to help get a more clear picture of where the treatment results were progressing. I try not to get worked up about these appointments, but I must confess the eye assessments always give me a few butterflies ahead of time. This is where this whole journey started, and I always feel nervous because it’s so important that these reviews go well. I did also have a particular concern going into the appointment in regards to floaters that are still visible in my right eye.

The Good News

Bottom line is that everything is good! These floaters are normal, and may in fact take years to dissipate. I’m asking Derek to jump in below with a more technical explanation of what the remaining floaters are composed of.  My left eye is basically clear. This is due to the fact that the vitreous fluid was removed last October in order to do the biopsy. This basically sucked the floaters out of my left eye and my vision was greatly improved after this procedure. I do have the option of having the vitreous fluid replaced through the same procedure in my right eye, if I feel bothered by these remaining floaters. At this point, my vision isn’t particularly impaired, but I will think about possibly doing this over the summer.

Dr. Hooper also did an OCT test. I’m going to let Derek expand on this also, because my technical explanations leave something to be desired. Basically, it’s a picture taken of the back of the eye to make sure there is no fluid build-up or other concerns. Dr. Hooper was satisfied that everything was in order with this test, but Derek can provide a little more insight.

Technicals

Anatomy of the Eye

Ok Derek here for some of the more technical. First off, to say Dr. Hooper is a subject matter expert (and an amazing eye doctor) would be selling him short. I try to keep up with his descriptions, but he’s at an entirely different level even when he dumbs it down 10x! Check the image on the right here for a better understanding of what comprises the eye – it’s incredibly complex.

One thing Cindy forgot was the visual acuity test that always starts the visit. This is the standard eye exam chart you’ve all likely seen (or used). She scored 20/20 on her left (good) eye which is considered ideal. She had a less favourable results on the right and I believe she scored 20/30 with two wrong. The results isn’t horrible by any stretch, but does show distinct differences between the two eyes. This is expected but does mean they will want to watch the recovery of the right eye more closely. As a side note, I was a bit bored during some waiting and asked the nurse if I could take the test – never have in my life. Apparently I’m a 20/15 which she said is pretty good! Sweet.

Floaters, still

So the floater make up. One part is effectively dead cancer cells being emitted into the vitreous of the eye (the jelly part). This is the results of the chemo, and is expected. This is great news that the treatments worked. Some others floaters are pigmentation that possibly flaked off during the chemo process (I believe this comes from the iris). And still others are possibly the results of the new immune system coming online and sending new cells to the eye, causing disruption and killing off other old cells.

These cells should all be removed over time by the body, but it could take years as Cindy noted. The inner eye isn’t an easy place to get into (similar to the central nervous system) which is why the long duration to remove bad things. If bad can’t get in, the body doesn’t design a process to rapidly get it out either. The floaters were diagnosed by the doctor directly simply by looking in the eye (with really fancy, cool, and expensive gadgetry). All of this floater material lives in the vitreous and the doctor also wanted a look at the back of the eye.

OCT Test

The OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) was a secondary test Dr. Hooper wanted conducted. This focused (no pun intended) on the back of the eye and specifically the retina around the optical nerve. You can see little indentations there called “fovea”. He was looking for anomalies in and around this area such as inflammation, fluid buildup or other cellular activity. These existed prior to treatment in Cindy’s eyes. These anomalies are a sign that something may not be right. And he found none in both eyes! This is important as the disease is bilateral – meaning it was in both eyes. With this test completed, and his literally 20 seconds of review of the images (he’s really good) he said see you in late August and we were out of there. A really good feeling overall. And back to Cindy now.

Next Little Bit

Otherwise, we’re plugging along day by day. Derek is doing some consulting work which keeps him busy. I will focus on continuing my recovery with healthy eating, active fitness and enjoying life to the fullest with my amazing friends and family! We’re also looking forward to returning to our beloved St. Maarten later this year. Lots of work to do on the boat and our business so this is also on our minds. One step at a time, but something we’re really looking forward to!