Treatment, Week 5

Today The Boy had another "routine" treatment visit. This one was very simple--in the door, check in, BP/Temp, hang out and play, then checkup and chemo procedure. The center was hopping today because there was a mom with 5 kids. Get this--a set of twins and a set of triplets. The triplets are 5, and one of them has Wilms as well. She has gone through treatment and I guess she's doing some more, but she looks pretty good other than the fact that she has no hair.

I can't imagine having to go through all this with other children in the house that also need our love and attention. I guess we're lucky in that respect. Lucky indeed.

Next week will be another longer visit because he has to get a second drug in addition to the Vincristine. I think that they'll give him a Zofran IV as well before he gets the Actinomycin-D.

I don't know why, but "Vincristine" sounds both sinister and poisonous. But it does good for those who must receive it. I guess in a way it's both good and bad. Kind of a Dark Knight, if you will.

Come on, that was clever!

Anyhow, the CT scan is on the 26th and we got a definite answer from The Boy's regular doctor, saying that if the scan shows that he's ready for surgery, after the surgeon has had a chance to look at it, he'll go in pretty soon after that. Two questions that we still need to ask (maybe I'll call later): will The Boy receive his chemo treatment that week, and approximately how long will he be staying in the hospital this time around? I'm guessing that he won't be in as long as he was last time--we had to wait for pathology results before he could be discharged. Maybe this time, even though they'll still have to send whatever they remove out for tests and such, they'll just send us home once The Boy is recovered. I'm not really thinking that he won't need surgery, even though that's a possibility, but I am wondering about what his doctor said with regards to hair loss and how he might not lose his hair at all!

Wouldn't that be humorous (according to the Cancer Mom's Dictionary...if this doesn't exist, then I might have to get together with some other cancer moms and create it)--a kid with two bald grandfathers and a bald dad whose fortitude in hair growth is so strong that chemotherapy can't even cause hair loss.

Anyhow, I'll probably have more to say later but right now it's time for a diaper change. And of course, he's napping.