The third chemo cycle is going well, and so far Madeleine has been tolerating it beautifully. We were prepared for a lot of sleeping, and a lot of vomiting, as it has been in the past, but are getting virtually none of that. It is the same drugs at the same doses as cycle #2, so I don't know why it's affecting her any different this time, but I won't complain about a good thing. When we go home (hopefully on Saturday), and she is off the anti-emetic drip, things may be different.
A CT was done prior to the start of chemo and it showed further reduction of the tumor (yay!). A bone marrow biopsy also showed reduction of the amount of disease in her marrow! I'm still waiting for the reports to find out the exact measurements, but this is great news! She will have an MIBG scan in a couple weeks and that will give us a good "big picture." Also, we supposedly have a consult in San Francisco with UCSF for the MIBG therapy in three weeks. We are waiting for insurance authorizations and details to get ironed out, but it looks like we will be taking another trip shortly.
Meanwhile we have been keeping busy with some exciting hospital guests:
Madeleine gives therapy dog, "Bug," a checkup.
The Lobos basketball team visited and Madeleine showed them all around our unit. The coordinator got an email from some of them today saying that they would like to come back to visit Madeleine. Pretty cool!
Last, but far from least, came the clowns! Again Madeleine was the official hostess and watched them perform for all of the rooms. She even made them go back to her room so that they could see it. She thought they were hilarious (and they were). These are Ringling Brothers clowns, a husband and wife team.
Tomorrow the Isotopes (baseball players) are coming. Madeleine is not nearly as excited about them "because they are boys."
All in all we couldn't hope for a better chemo visit. Hopefully we'll be outta here soon!
Thanks for the comments on the last post - it does help to know that someone is actually reading!
6 comments:
I love the pic of Mad with her clown nose. So glad this round has been gentle. Hang in there. Still think of you guys, daily. Xo
Go Topes! :)
So glad to hear that things are going better!
I love that Madeleine was the hostess for all these awesome visits! Interacting with people is something that always comes so naturally for her, so I am sure she did it like a pro! Thanks for sharing and send some hugs from me to Mad!
Amazing! I'm so happy that the chemo is going well this time. And how fun that Madeleine is getting so many visitors and entertainment! We are thinking of you guys.
Thanks for taking the time to post these updates - the blog is really great! So wonderful she had so many fun visitors!!
So glad things are going well, and that she has become a little ambassador for the pediatric unit. Sounds like we may see you soon? Let us know as soon as you know. Mom
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