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UPDATES |
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June 9, 2001--Talked to Adam earlier today. I found out the reason behind the changes in Chance's chemotherapy treatments. One that I had considered, but didn't know to be true. I guess after further research, Dr. Mustafa found out that Chance couldn't do the 5-6 continuous chemo with the admit to the hospital. Those who haven't had a BMT have a hard time with it, in which about 25% do not make it. But since Chance's body is not strong enough at this time, it increased his chances up to 75% that his body would not be able to take that much chemo all at once. So, they are doing the outpatient chemo at a slower pace, over the course of weeks instead of days. Chance started chemo on Thursday, June 7th, and had it again on Friday the 8th. Day one didn't seem to faze him much. Friday was a little different. He was heavily sedated for the spinal tap PLUS the chemo. He was pretty out of it when he got home that afternoon. Then after the sedation wore off, anything he'd eat or drink would come up. He's starting to feel the effects of the chemo, and is getting pretty grumpy. Grandma Mitchell left today, and Chance didn't want her to go. Then he was mad because DAD was taking her to the airport. I'm assuming the spinal tap results will be back on Monday....so I'll have to wait till Adam calls with those results. Meanwhile, Tyler and Chance met a few little girls in their apartment complex in which they became buddies with for the summer :) Chance received an award from Meghan's Blues Clues Page. This is his first award on this page. He has many others on his grandmother's page. Check out Grandma Mitchell's webpage on Chance...it's on his LINKS page. |
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June 6, 2001--Plans changed again. Chance will not be admitted to the hospital until further notice. I believe that they decided to treat him on outpatient visits until he starts feeling worse. This is just what I think. So, instead of being admitted today, they are not. Tomorrow they go into the hospital for something, but Janet couldn't remember what it was at the time. Friday, June 8, he goes in for sedation and they will do a spinal tap to check for leukemia cells in the spinal fluid. At that time, they will inject him the a chemo drug, Methotrexate. I believe this will be the beginning of the chemo. I was also asked by Janet to try and do some research on 2nd transplants and Medicare. Considering the first BMT cost $250,000 and Medicare picked up the bill, Dr. Mustafa said that more than likely they are not going to be willing to pay for it a second time around. So, me (Aunt Misty) and Grandma Mitchell will be checking into more fundraising options....this time, we have 8 months to raise it. |
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| June 5, 2001--UPDATE--Adam just called at 2pm. Dr. Mustafa decided to give Chance another day to play, cuz he was having so much fun with his brother and his Nana and Uncle Jim came to visit, along with Grandma Mitchell being in town. He will be admitted tomorrow morning...in which they are going to skip Phase I of the induction and head straight to Phase II. Chance's induction will be given over a 5-6 day period of intense, aggressive chemo. We also found out that his testicles may be treated locally with radiation. But, they still have to treat the leukemia with chemo. The outlooks are not good, and they are hard knowing. With hospice care, pain management, and local radiation he could live up to a couple years...possibly (nobody knows) OR, with chemo he could go into remission long enough to have another BMT. OR the chemo could be so hard on him, that it could kill him in a few weeks. There's just no telling. But we are putting faith in the Lord and in Chance. He's a fighter, and always has been. He was given less than ZERO percentages of living through the night, the night he was diagnosed. Here it is 3 years later....and he's still going. Adam and Janet can stop the treatments at any time. And Dr. Mustafa will stop the treatments if any life threatening situations occur, such as heart damage or liver damage) |
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| June 5, 2001--Not a whole lot to report today. Adam and Janet did decide to continue chemo treatments if that is still a possibility. They are meeting with Dr. Mustafa as this is being written. They are supposed to find out what CAN be done at this point. I believe you could say...everyone is grasping at straws, so to speak. Adam did make a deal with Dr. Mustafa, that when he came back today...he wanted Dr. Mustafa to tell him what HE would do if it was one of his three sons that was going through this. I guess Adam wants to bring it down to a more personal level, and not just a doctor/patient level. That, and maybe some confirmation that they are still doing the right thing. It's not an easy decision, and of course there is doubt on their end as to whether it's the right thing or not. Chance doesn't know he's even sick again. He knows he's going to be getting an IV, but other than that it didn't seem to faze him a bit. As I called and talked to Mom and Dad, he was playing "pirate" with his brother Tyler, in the waiting room as they waited for Dr. Mustafa to meet them. I heard both of them laughing and giggling with glee in the background. I also heard Chance tell his grandma Mitchell that he wanted to take a picture too. (Every time he sees the camera, he has to take a picture too...it's his calling!) For now, this is all I know. They are supposed to call me tonight at work, so I'll update more later this evening. |
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June 4, 2001--The news came in today. Test results show positive in the testicles...negative in the brain, spinal fluid, and bone marrow. Dr. Mustafa wants to treat Chance again...with more aggressive chemo than the past two times. But, he also told Adam and Janet that he would support them if they decided to stop all treatments. At this point, Chance's survival rate is about 5-10% with chemo. Without chemo, possibly another two months. But, even if chemo is given, there is no guarantee that it will knock him into remission again, or even if it does...how long he'll stay. They don't know if they can get him into remission for another 8 months to give him another bone marrow transplant. The chemo treatments would begin tomorrow, with an admit into the hospital for a week. Adam and Janet are supposed to go home tonight and decide what they want to do. Dr. Mustafa is going home tonight to research what he can and can't do with Chance. But, there is a grave possibility that the chemo alone could kill him. Local radiation of the testicles is not an option for Chance. And if you ask me, the 2 options we have aren't "options" at all. Dr. Mustafa is very fond of Chance, and doesn't want to give up. But Adam and Janet are faced with the fact that he possibly won't survive the chemo treatments this time, and do they want to put their son through all of this again when the outlooks are so grim. As Adam said it, "This is a BS decision." Will tell you the outcome tomorrow morning when I get the news. |
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