Jonathan continues to do very, very well during this third round of receiving ch14.18. He's been active, hardly feeling any pain, and has been able to eat. Today is the last day in the hospital, and hopefully all goes well tonight so that he can be release tomorrow morning, so that by tomorrow afternoon we'll be on our way to Yosemite.
We also had our consult with our primary oncologist this morning - to help put into perspective what Jonathan's remaining amount of tumor cells actually means. As with all things in life - there is some good news and there is some bad news. To sum it all up, the good news is that we can say with some certainty that Jonathan's life has been extended. When Jonathan was finally diagnosed with Neuroblastoma a year ago - it was almost the end for him. We have (now) reached the stage where most of the tumor cells have been eradicated; he has no solid tumors; the amount of tumor cells in his bone marrow is small; and he is recovering - physically, mentally and emotionally.
The bad news is that he still has cancer cells - so he is definitely NOT cured. There is also no guarantee that he will be cured because one of the characteristics of Neuroblastoma is that even with just a little bit of tumor cells - it can become aggressive and 'explode'. I've (personally) read too many stories of Neuroblastoma coming back with such a vengeance that it's frightening.
What does this all mean? It means we have a reprieve. It means we (finally) have hope. It means a little more sanity in our lives - but for how long - we don't know.
1 comment:
Dear Walter,
We do hope that things continue to look bright for dear Jonathan. We have not seen any posts for the past couple of weeks ahd hoped that you all are doing great. We continue to pray for you and your family and for Jonathan, that God may grant you all tender mercies and you travel this journey together.
With lots of love and best wishes,
Auntie Ann, Uncle Jerry and family
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