Cleaner Scans And Darker Tans

When I posted last, Matt’s Round 4 of 6 was postponed due to not meeting blood counts to start chemotherapy. It’s been this way since round one. The round is supposed to be a 21 day cycle but due to this treatment really taking a hit on Matt’s blood counts he has always had to delay the start of the next round by a week. The extra week off though does seem to help him get his mojo back ready for the next round.

Matt completed Round 4 in a similar fashion as the other rounds. The week following chemotherapy is always rough on his body, and it’s not until middle of the second week post treatment that he starts to recover. But somehow he manages to keep on pushing his way through. In fact, while Matt was getting radiation treatment today one of the workers approached me and expressed how Matt was one tough kid. He should know. He sees just how much treatment Matt has undergone over the years.

Following the fourth round of the clinical trial Matt had scans done to monitor progress. The usual MRI of the head and pelvis, a full body PET scan and CT scan of lung area. I am very happy to report these scans are showing a lot more reduction in size of all spots! The spots that were found in the lung area (one spot was 2 cm in size) several months ago are now barely even lighting up on the scans. The sacrum area that originally had a sizeable cancerous growth developing is now gone. If you recall, this area had 15 days worth of radiation that was performed on it. The MRI also was not showing any cancerous activity happening. Needless to say we (as well as Matt’s oncologist) are very pleased with the results we are seeing.

What’s next to come? Today we started round five of six. Matt’s blood counts were off the charts good today. Actually they were surprisingly normal looking. Something we haven’t seen in quite some time. Matt will be in clinic every day this week for a few hours receiving chemotherapy. Following the chemotherapy each day Matt will be getting the lung area radiated for a total of 10 days. Even though that area was looking good on the scans, Matt’s oncologist still wanted to continue with the radiation. This cancer is sneaky and finds ways around chemotherapy. Matt’s body usually responds well to the radiation generally knocking out the spots.

The clinical trial protocol had us postpone the administration of DFMO for round four. Mainly they wanted to see if any of the low blood counts were due to taking the DFMO. It was determined that there doesn’t seem to be any correlation so Matt can resume taking it. However, he will be taking it at a reduced dosage. Instead of 11 pills in the morning and 10 in the evening, it has been reduced to 8 in the morning and 8 in the evening. I had to dust off my pill grinder as I had put it away on the shelf since he stopped taking it. We’re told that Matt will remain taking this dosage until the end of the last cycle. Once that cycle is complete Matt will be taking only the DFMO having finished radiation and chemo treatments. At that point the dosage will be increased again to what it was originally.

Somewhere in the middle of all this we managed to sneak away to the beach for a few days to one of Matt’s favorite places, Longboat Key. We generally visit there the last week of July though this year we were unsure if we would make it. Since Matt’s treatment got delayed, the week opened up for us so we decided to do it. Even though the weather was not cooperating we still made a good time of it. We got to eat out as a family which is something we haven’t done in months. We sat on the beach enjoying the sound of the waves, visited the aquarium, went out for ice cream (a few times) and saw some amazing sunsets. It was a welcome break in between the treatments.  Some photos below.  Click for larger views.

A big thank you to some of Jan’s family who made the trip memorable:

• Matt’s Uncle Alan and Aunt Kim for letting us borrow their unit for our stay. It was great to spread out and enjoy some great views on the top floor.
• Matt’s Aunt Mary and Uncle Marty for organizing a gift basket full of gift cards which family members contributed to. Thank you to all who graciously bought us gift cards to different restaurants and establishments!
• Matt’s Aunt Barbara who had Aloe Vera on hand. Matt and I went down to the beach one day and apparently had our entire bodies shaded with the exception of our feet. Matt’s skin was red from mid leg on down which left him tip toeing around for a bit.

Finally, on behalf of our family I want to thank everyone from both sides of the family as well as friends who have been sending us gift cards, assorted treats, and even lotto tickets! We are overwhelmed with the outpouring of support. Did you know there was actually a limit on how many gift cards you can add in one day to your account for some of these restaurants or services?   I didn’t…until now.

And if one of these lotto tickets hits big we will throw one ginormous party for all.  All I ask is that you please continue to keep Matt in your prayers as he fights this awful cancer that has uprooted his life.  Every day is a battle he sets out to win.

Your words.  Your encouragement.  Your prayers.  All make every battle winnable.