Test Results

Having completed 6 rounds of chemotherapy and with Cameron's first stem cell transplant just around the corner, last week began what was to be one of the longest weeks of our lives. The time had come to see if Cameron's little body had responded enough to the chemotherapy and if he was healthy enough to go through 2 stem cell transplants.  We began the week with the knowledge that if there hadn't been enough of a response to the chemo, it wouldn't necessarily be the end of the road for him, but it would make things a lot more difficult treatment wise and his prognosis wouldn't be very good at all.  We were hopeful that the massive amounts of chemotherapy would have done their job and wiped out Cameron's cancer, but in the back of our minds, we knew there was a possibility that he might still be sick.  The week was gruelling, with a test every day that he had to be sedated for, which among other things, meant no food from midnight - not ideal when we are doing everything we can to fatten him up.  But more gruelling than the daily tests, was waiting for the results. The first result to come in was from the bone scan which showed "improvement", we were hoping that it would show "resolved", but we can deal with improvement - right, one down.  The next test was the MIBG, this shows us if there are any areas in his body still infected with cancer cells, the results came back that although a lot of the cancer cells were gone, there were still active areas around his eyes, and then the most terrifying news of all - they thought they might have found a NEW area infected with cancer above his clavicle.  Naturally, I fell apart!  I think I have been holding it together for so long and finally I just couldn't anymore.  It didn't matter how many times our brilliant oncologist told me that we needed to wait for ALL of the test results to come back to get a picture of Cameron's progress - one result was not indicative of his response, I was still devastated, and had pretty much given up all hope. 

The following day, Cameron had a bone marrow aspiration and CT scan.  When Cameron was first diagnosed, his bone marrow was over 90% infected with cancer, after 2 rounds of chemo it had gone down to 75%.  We needed the bone marrow to be at 25% at the most in order to go ahead with the transplant.  And then finally the good news... Cameron's bone marrow results were NEGATIVE - there is no cancer in his bone marrow!  We were ecstatic!!!  The results of the CT were also good, and other than showing some sinus issues and a possible bronchial infection, it showed no signs of affected lymph nodes or organ involvement!  The new area of cancer that they saw on the MIBG scan is apparently very small, it was not seen on the CT scan and when reviewed by the doctor and a different radiologist, they felt that they couldn't see it.  They will radiate the area when they do the other radiation, just to be 100% sure.

Cameron also had a hearing test, to check if the chemotherapy had started causing hearing loss.  There was some minimal hearing loss in the left ear and the right ear was still within the normal range.  Although there has been some damage to both of the ears, and we expect more damage from the next round of chemo therapy - it's a small price to pay, and at the moment, his hearing is still fine for language development.

Cameron has been classed as a "very good partial response" and has been cleared for his stem cell transplant.  He will be admitted to Egleston Children's Hospital (CHOA) on Thursday, February 16 and will begin chemotherapy that day.  The transplant will occur on February 23 and then we will wait... and wait and wait.. until his counts come up enough for him to be allowed to go home.  I will do a more detailed post on the ins and outs of the transplant in a few days, right now we are savouring every moment that our sweet boy is at home with us.  He is eating well and has picked up over a kilogram (3 pounds).  He is happy and talking up a storm and, along with James, the absolute joy of our lives.