Our new "Normal"

The GREAT news is NO CANCER!!! NOT ANYWHERE!!! ALL the tests results are back and it is all gone!!


The rough news is, Zack still must have chemotherapy for a year. With Ewing Sarcoma, the statistics show the there is a 100% chance of it returning without treatment and an 85% chance of it NOT returning with the treatment. As parents, we know we will have to make decisions that could affect our child's life forever, you never think you will have to make one THIS big! We not only have to do our best to make sure this doesn't return, but have to know about what lies ahead. It is a scary journey, all the percentages that are thrown our way, all the details of the possible side effects, the loosing of the hair, the new protection we must provide to ensure he doesn't get sick, today is another overwhelming visit. 

This time, we know we must absorb only what is important. The rest will come in time, we will soon be pro's, walking the halls of the clinic and hospital, knowing where everything is, bathrooms, cafeteria, snacks. We will know what to bring with us for the long days, whom will be working, what Doctor we see today. Soon it will all become routine, but for today... THIS SUCKS!!!  It sucks that our very healthy, handsome young man of 16 has to deal with loosing his hair, (which at this point bothers him the most and can occur in the first couple of weeks after first treatment), he has to be aware of his friends health, if they are sick they can't come around, there are so many things we need to be aware of and somehow, day by day we must trust that we have made the right decision.

Now on to technical:

In house cocktail will be : Vincristine (Oncovin), Doxorubicin (Adreamycin), Cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) Ondansetron  and Zofran to keep the nauseau down.

The Hospital cocktail will be: Mesna (Mesnex), Etoposide (VP-16, VePesid), Ifosfamide (Lfex)

I won't mention side effects as I believe that what you put out into the Universe can actually happen, so we will know that he will have the least amount of side effects. 

The protocol will be as follows: 

Zack will be an outpatient and receive his "cocktail" on Tuesdays at the Cancer Center near Mission in Asheville, NC. This will be an all day visit. They have a chair that massages, heats up, reclines. They have cable TV, and a couch that Mama and Dad can chill on. He will then return on Wednesday morning for follow up visit,to flush out his system,  no "cocktail" on those days.  This will happen two weeks in a row.

On the Third week he will enter the hospital for five days of treatments. They give a stronger cocktail, so they administer it slowly into the system and monitor him closely. He will be at Mission in the pediatric unit. He will have his own room and will be able to have visitors to keep him company, (as long as they are not sick).

On the fourth week, he is "off", then it loops around again. Basically he will have a total of 11 days a month of treatment (that is if I'm looking at this chart correctly, at this point I'm overwhelmed so don't quote me on numbers.. those of you who know me, know all too well my history with numbers. This will continue for 238 days starting with the first day!

This will all be over in 238 days! We can do this! HE can do this!  With prayers, lots of love and support I know He can do this!! and we have everything in spades!!