August 23, 2007

Evan's Biopsy

Dear Friends and Family,

Evan went into surgery this morning at 7:30 am and was done around 10:30 am. Everything went as well as we could have hoped.

Shortly after surgery, they did a CT Scan to check for any complications (bleeding, blood clots, etc.) and everything was normal. He's been in recovery all afternoon, and probably won't be moved until later this evening. He's in quite a bit of pain, but he's coherent and able to understand and communicate clearly.

He's doing well enough that they think he'll be transferred to a regular room instead of ICU, so that's really good. If he continues to do well, they could send him home as early as tomorrow - we'll just have to wait and see.

Dr. Jensen was able to collect several good tissue samples, so they should be able to make a clear diagnosis. We should get the results back on Monday or Tuesday next week. Just from the brief analysis they did today, Dr. Jensen felt confident that they could rule out the two worst-case-scenarios. He was quite sure that it was not a "germinoma" which does not respond well to radiation, and he was quite sure that this was not a cancer that had spread to the brain from somewhere else in the body. So that's all good news.

When Dr. Jensen gets the biopsy results back, he will share them with Evan's Oncologist (Dr. Choucair) and Evan's Radiation Oncologist (Dr. Watson). We have an appointment with Dr. Watson next Thursday so that's when we'll get all the details on Evan's treatment plan. If it's a fast growing cancer, he'll receive radiation and chemotherapy. If it's a slow growing cancer, he will receive just radiation. Needless to say, we're hoping for the slow-growing form.

There are no words to express our gratitude for all your prayers on our behalf. There is no question in my mind that we have received countless blessings because of your faith and prayers. Thank you all so much!

We'll continue to keep you posted.

Love,
Margot