Biopsy Results

I am writing this on the fly, because based on everyone's calls, texts and emails everyone is concerned.  We did get the results we wanted.  They believe that the lymph nodes are "lit up" because of something viral.  We have not gotten the official report as they have sent them for further testing just to be sure, but Dr. Ron looked at them with the pathologist and he said that they do not look like T-cell lymphoma cells.  It is all very complicated so I will spare you all the details, but basically they do not look cancerous.  We will get everything for sure next Wednesday.

It has been a trying couple of weeks for us and we have been on pins and needles as this took longer to come back than most of our other results, for reasons I understand but will not elaborate on.  So we feel like we can plan our lives a bit, but we are doing this with some trepidation as it feels maybe too good to be true.  I know that in the past I have been accused by some of being negative and having a bad attitude towards these good results, but before you judge our reactions I do ask that you walk just a week or maybe a month in our shoes first.

So in a nutshell "HAPPY SPRING", I must go in order to start planning!  I am making lists (Jen I know you would be so proud) and checkin them twice as we start to truly be able to plan to enjoy our summer coming up.  We have our dental surgery next Thursday and hopefully I do not need to see another anaesthesiologist for a long, long time.

Take care and love to all.

The Sterks.

Scan Results

Ok so last Thursday went really smoothly, if you want to discount getting an IV and a two hour recovery on ward smooth, then smooth it was.  We have now got the results of that and the good news is that there is no signs of anything in her skin.  There are no masses anywhere!  This is a big YEAH! 

But, yes the big BUT there is something now in her lymph nodes, there were four of them that "lit up".  So we don't know what these are as a PET scan only shows hot areas, not why they are hot.  These were never there in any of her previous biopsy's.  It is so hard with these little guys to know that everything you have done to them to get them well, will not eventually end up making them sick, again.  They are hoping that this is a post viral thing and this is why they are "lit up".  The only way to tell is to do a biopsy as waiting another 4-6 weeks for a PET is something they say they cannot do, in case it is not post viral.

So here we are in a holding pattern once again and I find myself holding my breath again.  We have some more meetings up at Children's tomorrow and then hopefully Friday they can do a biopsy, maybe even Saturday (they clearly want this done fast - or Saturday would never have been mentioned!).  We hope that this will be easily identifiable and not have to be sent back to Austria as the first one was.

Will keep you all posted.

Love The Sterks.

PS: Added some pics of Gracie with her crazy hair, along with her and I in Fish Creek. Gracie was riding her ever favourite, her red Radio Flyer.

The Lion King and a PET Scan

Anybody who knows me well knows that I am a movie freak.  I can watch 4 movies back to back without blinking an eye, well at least I used to.  So when we talk about momentous occasions in our children's lives people think first words, first steps, first teeth.  Well forget that, our momentous occasion came in the form of popcorn, The Lion King and a toddler who actually, yes actually laid down and watched this!  Some of you are probably thinking, she has never watched a movie?  Yes she has numerous times, but this, in my mind, was an actual movie, no it was not a Johnny Depp masterpiece or anything but it was a movie that did not involve the Backyardigans, Curious George or Dora.  It actually had a plot that did not involve a magic backpack.   Now be it that we had to fast forward through the scary parts, which involved any scene where the colours were a little muted so our 90 minute movie turned out to be about 45 minutes, but hey beggars can't be choosers.  I was able to actually lay down on a couch (yes lay down) and I did not get any toddler feet kicking me in the head, or demands of milk every five minutes nor was I even asked to dance.  This people was a momentous occasion.  I know that I do not want her to grow up to fast, but if she could replace Dora with Meryl Streep, the Backyardigans with the Ocean's Eleven Crew and Curious George with Al Pacino or Matt Damon, we would be in business and then I don't care if she ever hits any other milestone, my life would be complete, a forever interested movie watching companion, yes yes life would be good.

It is PET Scan time again, albeit two months late thanks to the Anaesthesia team up at children's being "too busy" to go to Foothills to allow her to have her scan, and our oncology team fighting hard for her, only to have to go to the head of the food chain once again in order to get it done.  Don't even get me started to what that does to a Cancer Mom's psyche.   So we are set for March 8 (Thursday) at 1 p.m.  I hope in my heart of hearts nothing goes wrong to mess this up, as it so often can.  She has been sleeping more than usual this past week and that leads them to believe that she has been fighting a (mild) virus we did a chest xray in order to rule out anything pneumonia like (refer to the last time she got put under anaesthetic and we ended up in ICU with pneumonia) all came back clean.  However it kiaboshed our plans for the weekend and we ended up not doing a whole hell of alot.

Once again we sit on egg shells waiting for Thursday and not wanting to really think about it at all.  I don't know how to stress how hard scan times are on Cancer families.  Like I said in one of my other posts, you load the barrel of the gun and spin it one more time and hope to God it does not fire.

I hope all is well in everyone's world and wish everyone well.  Will update once we receive the results, or if Gracie happens to sit through "The Help" in which I will be over the moon.

Love The Sterks