Friday, December 9, 2011

Collin's MRI went smoothly today, and best of all, it showed NO RESIDUAL DISEASE!!!!!! This means the one round of chemo disolved the nodule, and there are no tumors that can be seen at this time! This result was even better than what I dared hope for. Of course we are ecstatic, and I couldn't be happier if I won a multi-million dollar lottery. But the fight is far from over.

Chances are, there wasn't just one rogue cell that grew into the nodule found in October, so we have no guarantee that there aren't more cells waiting to grow. To decrease the chances of anything growing back in the area where the nodule grew, we are still looking at Gamma Knifing that area. We met with the radiation oncologist this afternoon to discuss the procedure, and hopefully next week we will meet with the neurosurgeon who would perform the procedure. They also need to measure Collin's head to make sure it is large enough to fit the machine. As long as everything goes well, the procedure would be scheduled as soon as possible.

In the meantime, Collin's oncologist will update Dr. Dunkel at MSKCC and start getting things rolling for the 3F8 antibody treatment. Hopefully that can be done early in the New Year. Once that is completed, we hope to do metronomic, or maintenance therapy using some chemo and some other medications that work differently on cancer cells. The metronomic therapy can be done for a year or more. Statistically, the best chance of a complete "cure" requires craniospinal radiation, however those statistics don't factor in these newer treatment options. Ideally perhaps these treatment options could mean that Collin will never need craniospinal radiation; but at the very least they will hopefully allow us to put it off a little longer and give Collin's brain a little more time to grow and develop normally.

This evening we celebrated by going out for dinner and then painting some Christmas ornaments. Thank you so very much for the prayers, love, and support today!