Update on Chris 2-2-07
Friday’s Update…
When I arrived to the hospital, Chris was in the process of being moved to a new room that had a shower he could use. He is still on the fourth floor of the Collins Building at Baylor Dallas, in
ROOM 436. So, for the first time in over a month, Chris was able to take a shower! With sitting up in a wheelchair when I arrived, then sitting in the shower for a long time, he was probably sitting up for about two hours and never got short of breath or too tired. He felt so good after getting to shower. More good news… he stayed off of oxygen all day and his oxygen saturation remained good. He is definitely getting stronger every day!
They took him for a Pet Scan in the early afternoon. The doctors came in at 6:30 with the results. The scan showed that the tumor has grown bigger and spread more throughout his liver and abdominal lympnnodes. This has happened in the last month, while Chris was being treated for pneumonia, with no cancer treatments. This is a setback, but the doctors have a plan. They are starting chemotherapy today (Saturday). The regimen consists of one drug he was using before and another drug that is new, with less threat of allergic reaction. It is considered an intense regimen, but Chris’ blood counts are great right now, so they believe he is strong enough to handle one day a week chemo. He will continue this one day a week chemo while he is rehabilitating and working on getting stronger. They are still working on getting him moved to a rehab center and he will be able to continue his chemo where ever he is at. Then, when he is released from rehab, he will do his chemo treatments once a week outpatient in the clinic, for as long as needed to bring down his AFP level. Chris and I were so pleased that the doctor was on top of this and that we didn’t have to wait all weekend for results and a plan. Oh, the doctor also told us that this particular cancer is growing very fast, but fast growing tumors are typically more responsive to chemotherapy. This is good news.
Chris feels that he can do this. And he is more motivated than ever to get stronger. The doctor did say that they are working towards transplant and still consider him a candidate, so they want him to continue to get stronger in preparation for that. He has most of his arm movement back. His left arm is a little behind, because of the surgery he had at Thanksgiving. He is able to use his computer, his phone and all other daily functions.
Please pray for Chris to continue to get stronger and that the he will tolerate the chemotherapy well. Please also pray that God will open the right doors for the right rehab center, to help us make our decision about where to go. There are a lot of things that have to fall into place to make that happen. We have also just started a new health insurance, so please pray that the transition is smooth.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
Mandy