Esther's Page

It's been a crazy couple of months... Good, bad and ugly... First, e is doing well: A CT scan was taken on Monday, July 28, and a bone scan was taken Friday, July 26. Both indicate that the cancer is gone from the lung, and that the cancer on the liver is significantly smaller. The latest AFP level also came back as 15.4, which is considered "normal". So, he just underwent his ninth course of treatment (again with the clinical trial that appears to have worked)--in an attempt to get rid of th… Continue

e went into the hospital on May 27th to start the latest treatment: a national clinical trial (chemo that has been effective on adults with recurring germ cell tumors). So, we spent that day waiting for a room and dealing with all the admission stuff: accessing his port, putting in the folley, all the vitals, and trying to keep e calm, entertained and not bored (never easy to do with a two-year-old who wants to constantly be on the go, preferably outside). But, e got through it... And, we were f… Continue

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. To give you a little background (if you haven't seen my posts before): My 2-year-old son e was diagnosed with a yoke sac tumor (type of germ cell tumor) last October (with one mass the size of a baseball, as well as "spots" on his liver and lung). Since then... It's been a roller-coaster ride of chemo, surgery (to remove the mass and part of the liver), more chemo, and then more surgery (to remove more of the liver). Unfortunately, the cancer keeps co… Continue

It's Friday, and I can think of many reasons why that's an awesome, wonderful and amazing thing. The week has finally come to a long, drawn-out, stumblin' halt, and I stand here looking back. It's only been a few days, but some weeks seem to go into a time warp. I come out the other end wondering where all the time went and why I didn't accomplish even a fraction of what I'd known that I should. Last weekend, I was in Austin, Texas. That was an adventure in itself. But, then I got back--only to… Continue

e had a wonderful day for his birthday, I think ;) It's hard to tell, I guess... He's usually such a happy kid anyway. But, he loved putting his tool bench together with me this morning (he's actually not half bad... seems to have an innate ability to know where things are supposed to go... maybe not in the right order... but we had fun anyway). And, better news yet... The nurse came for his lab draw this morning and his counts are climbing. No need for transfusion. Just watch and wait. Whew! (… Continue