First round of treatment

Last week we had our first meeting with the oncology department at their children’s clinic. Luke’s diagnosis for the most part is the same as we’ve known already. He has ganglioneuroblastoma, stage three, intermediate risk. The doctors showed us a big flow chart that basically describes protocol for treatment based on factors that have come about with the results of his tests. So at this point his basic treatment will be four cycles of chemotherapy, followed by a revaluation of the tumor. The cycle is roughly 30 days. The first cycle starts today. It will be three treatments over three days then, 22 to 28 days off. Luke only has to have the medicine run through his IV four an hour. He will most likely have to have two trips a week to the hospital to have his blood count taken.
The problem in diagnosing his tumor lies in the fact that it is a mix of cancer and benign cells. They’re not able to tell us a percentage, like 30% benign and 70% cancer. Chemotherapy shrinks cancer cells but not benign cells. So we will have to wait and see how much of the tumor shrinks. This will be followed by surgery to remove what’s left.
Sorry if the blog seems to jump around from topic to topic, or if there are still some unanswered questions. We have received so much info over the past month, that at times it is hard to keep it all straight. Also, we apologize for the speed of getting info up on this blog. Sometimes it seems that the days just aren’t long enough to finish everything, but be patient we will keep it updated. If anyone has any questions in particular or something that does not sound right feel free to ask in the comments. We will try to answer it the best we can. Or if you just have any random things you would like to ask of Luke, I’m sure he will have an answer for you! J Once again we want to thank everybody for their faithful prayers for Luke and for our family.