Friday, September 13, 2013

The Plan

We're still waiting on chemo. It should be starting around 8 PM tonight. I'll have more details on that tomorrow, which is also his 7th birthday. 

We've spoken with doctors in more detail, here are some interesting tidbits, and a better understanding of the treatment plan. 

Jack's treatment is designed and overseen by Children's Oncology Group, a consortium of over 200 hospitals in US and Canada. They specialize in children's cancers so he really is in good hands. 

Rather than 8 months as I initially understood, the treatment should take 1-1.5 years. We'll take it step by step.  First step is two cycles of chemo, about three weeks apart. We spoke with his school a few days ago, but now that we have more details, we'll need to talk again. We should be able to get someone to visit him at home and continue his studies. 

Jack is participating in a study that will help doctors better diagnose and treat future patients with his type of cancer. There is no extra "experimentation" that he will undergo, but he may be subjected to a few extra scans to monitor his treatment and progress. If anyone is interested, I can write more about the study, just let me know in comments. 

Here he is taking the auditory test today, he passed with flying colors. Chemotherapy can cause permanent hearing loss, so today they got his baseline.



Today I'm grateful for:
- My sister who brought our little cousin to play with Jack, and decorated our hospital room,
- Marie Curie, for doing all she did. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_Curie
- Generosity of coworkers and friends who set up a donation fund to help with medical expenses


9 comments:

  1. He looks like he is being a real trooper through this initial testing. Here's hoping the chemo is not too hard on him.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Moldovan Family - You don't know me but I work at the State Office Building, with NDE in the school lunch program. I wanted to reach out because my son is a 2 time cancer survivor. He was treated at Childrens and at the Med Center. His first diagnosis was when he was 18 months old--and I'm happy to report he is now 21!!! Please feel free to email me if you'd like to correspond, or want to talk on the phone, or just vent. Thinking of you--Lynn Goering lygoering@aol.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Lynn,
      Stories like yours mean a lot to us. They're like a light at the end of the tunnel.
      Congratulations to your family and your son!

      Delete
  3. I really appreciate these updates on Jack and is such a quick manner too. I will be thinking of Jack on his 7th birthday. I hope he feels well enough after his chemo for a piece of cake. Happy Birthday from your old Kindergarten Teacher!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you Mrs. Broeker,
    Jack will be happy to know you and Grant are thinking about him.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Well, no chemo yet. His hydration levels aren't where they'd like them to be. So either they'll start tomorrow, or later tonight. He won't get much sleep as his blood pressure and temp will be checked at midnight and at 4 am.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Happy Birthday JACK!! Thinking about you today! Hope you have a great birthday!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hope the chemo goes well today. So glad that they gave him some medicine to help his tummy so it does not get too sick. Jack is a special boy and we are sending positive thoughts and prayers to your family daily.
    Love,
    Sherri and Darren
    Gabe, Olivia, Kieren, and Emerson

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Darren, and the rest of the fam!
      Looks like Chase and Gabe will have a successful future in the manual labor industry, with all their minecraft practice. I'm not complaining, it's a fairly creative game.

      Delete