June 23, 2008

GOOD NEWS and
NOT-SO-GOOD NEWS


Hi Everyone,

Well, it was a long day – and a day of mixed emotions. The good news is that the tumor shrunk a little bit more. Not the dramatic results we got last time, but some improvement nonetheless. Just from looking at the films, our doctor said his best guess was a 20-30% reduction. However, the radiologist’s report and exact measurements were not ready in time for our appointment, and we thought his estimate might be a little on the generous side.

On the downside – when I asked the doctor about giving Evan a break from chemotherapy if the next MRI (or two) showed improvement, he said that he would not recommend it. He said that if Evan’s side-effects got worse, we could consider changing the treatment schedule to receive chemo every three weeks instead of every two. But after reminding us that Evan’s cancer is one of the most aggressive forms of cancer there is, he encouraged us to keep doing what we’re doing, for as long as we can possibly stand it. That did not give us much to look forward to.

At the risk of sounding incredibly ungrateful, it’s becoming really hard to get excited about positive MRI results when they don’t translate into any form of relief or improvement in the current, day-to-day challenges of treatment. I guess this is where we’re supposed to stop looking for immediate pay-offs, and start exercising faith in long-term results. (Such an annoying fact of life, isn’t it?).

So basically, Evan will start another 8 weeks of treatment next Tuesday, and get another MRI done at the end of August. At that point, he will have completed 6 months of this particular chemo, and a full year of treatments altogether. I honestly don’t know how he keeps going. His strength and endurance has been truly amazing!

We thank you so much for your prayers and fasting over the weekend, as well as the many messages of hope and encouragement that we have received. They boost our spirits and keep us going! We are so grateful for all of you!

Love,
Margot

June 18, 2008

June 2008 Update


Hi Everyone,

Sorry I haven’t written in a while. The last two months have been relatively uneventful, so I haven’t had much to report.

Evan has continued to receive chemotherapy treatments every other week, and he hasn’t had any major complications since I wrote last. But with each additional treatment, it seems to take him a little bit longer to recover. In the beginning he would start feeling better within 3 or 4 days. Now, it takes a good 8 to 10 days before he feels like doing much again. Basically, he starts to feel better just in time for the next treatment. After 10 months of chemo, the cumulative effect is definitely taking its toll.

On the bright side Evan looks great! The visible signs of his early treatment have faded a lot over the past few months. His hair has grown back and a lot of the swelling in his face and upper body has gone down. He looks much more like himself these days. Now, if only he could feel as good as he looks!

Evan’s next MRI is scheduled for this coming Monday, June 23rd, at 11:30 am. We’re hoping the news will be good enough for the doctors to start talking about giving him a break from treatment sometime soon. The man from Colorado, whose treatment I’ve been following online, was able to stop chemotherapy after he had 3 good MRI’s in a row, showing no new tumor growth. He’s been off treatment for 8 months now, with no signs of new growth. We are desperately hoping for similar success.

Our family has planned a special fast for Evan this Sunday, before the MRI. If anyone else would like to join us we would be so grateful. We appreciate all your prayers and support so much! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you!!!

Love,
Margot