Pushed Back a Week.

We went in this morning to begin treatment. But Aimee had developed a rash this past weekend, most probably an allergic reaction to the "contrast" liquid used in the PET scan last Wednesday. The doctors had a look and thought it would be best to wait a week before she starts treatment, to give the rash time to clear up. (One of the side effects of Interleukin-II is a pretty nasty rash of its own-- so they didn't want to compound the problem.)

No worries here. Gives us another week to enjoy the summer. :)

Life goes on

Last night Xavier requested a bedtime story about baby Jesus and I obliged. I told him about the annunciation, the engagement and marriage of Mary and Joseph, the census, the trip by donkey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, how there was no room at the inn, how Mary's tummy was getting bigger and bigger and the baby was ready to come. I thought I'd done a lovely job of explaining about how Joseph made a soft bed for Mary in the hay and how the animals kept them company and the stars shone down on the stable and was just about to get to the birth itself when Xavier popped up and asked excitedly, "And then Mary saw the robots?"
Ah, well.

Testing...

It's been a busy few days. Yesterday we went over to Mass General to talk to the oncology doctors there. And, as we'd expected, they agreed that Interleukin was a good bet for our next step. Today, I arrived at Beth Israel at 7:30 AM (at which time, I discovered, the parking garage is much more amenable) for a slew of pre-interleukin tests. I had a CAT scan (with accompanying 900 ml of barrium consumption) an EKG, a breathing test, and a good old fashioned blood test. Nothing too challenging; and I think they all went well. So, we are just waiting for the final green light for Monday. Until then I'm preparing for my week of spa treatments by cutting cucumber wedges for my eyes and picking out my best slippers.
Lots of love.

This Week and Next

It looks like I will start my treatments with Interleukin II on this next Monday. However, we are still waiting for a last confirmation from my health insurance before that is set in stone. This week I have various doctor's appointments and tests I need to pass in order to be up to the challenge of the Interleukin.

I'll keep you all posted on how they go.
With love
A

Latest Update.

Not the news we had hoped for. We went to see Dr. Atkins today at 3:00pm. We were hoping that the surgery would have eliminated all evidence of cancer. Unfortunately, Dr. Atkins said that the PET scan revealed that the cancer had spread to lymph nodes above those that were removed in surgery. We thought maybe there would be microscopic remnants of cancer here and there, but there seems to be a little more than that.

Treatment, though, will be relatively the same. Aimee will undergo a high-dose treatment of Interleukin-II. This will involve 1 week of inpatient hospitalization, where they administer Interleukin-II 3 times a day for 5 days. Then, she'll come home for a week, then go back for one more week of treatment. We're not sure exactly when this will start-- soon, of course-- but they'll let us know all the details this Monday.

Although only 20% of patients respond to this treatment, we have a lot of hope, not to mention a lot of prayers backing us up. So keep at it! And besides, the doctor "assures" us that Aimee will be ready to teach in the fall. :)

We'll let you know when the treatment is set to go. Thank you, everyone, for listening to us and praying for us.

On a lighter note...

We have also been eating our quota of summer ice cream and
marching in or around all parades that have come our way. Here is the proof. :)