More Cancer!

Yesterday Joel, Eila, and I went to Doernbecher for her six month post-chemo check-up. As before, this included an ultrasound and unfortunately it showed that there is a new tumor on Eila's right kidney. We were shocked, angry, scared, confused, frustrated ... so many things all at once it's difficult to describe. Although this is precisely why we were having these follow-up appointments, we were not prepared for the possibility that Eila's cancer would return, and in less than a year! Our doctors consistently advised us that the chance of a recurrence was next to none, so small that Eila's port was removed early in March of this year.

Needless to say, this news turned the day and our lives upside down; instead of being there for 2 hours, we were there for 11 hours. They did another CT scan of Eila to check her lungs for tumors and to get a better idea of the size and position of this new tumor. Fortunately, there is only the one new tumor on her kidney and no growth in her lungs. So at this time, we are presuming that this is a new Wilm's tumor, and not a growth from the previous tumor. Unfortunately it's much more complicated this time because we can't simply remove her only remaining kidney with this tumor. But because of her monitoring, we have caught this tumor early - it has been growing for less than 3 months.

The tumor is relatively small, but so is her two-year-old kidney. The doctors' recommendation is to begin with chemo to try to shrink the tumor, so as little kidney tissue as possible will need to be removed. Unfortunately we all need kidneys and they don't grow back. The hope is that if very little can be removed, the remaining tissue will continue to develop and grow as Eila grows. The current plan is for 25 weeks of chemo treatments, which will include three drugs this time: Vincristine, Dactinomycin, and Doxorubicin. The first 2 Eila got last time, but I'm a little nervous about this new drug (Doxorubicin) because it also attacks the heart. In the next week or so, Eila will have to get additional tests on her heart (like an echocardiogram) before she gets Doxorubicin to make sure she isn't started off with a compromised heart.

From July/August 2012

Eila, just as before, showed no outwardly signs of being sick and was a trooper through it all. She started her first chemo treatment yesterday, yet all she was interested in was driving this police car around the infusion clinic. We are planning a port placement surgery next week and more chemo. Her tumor removal surgery is tentatively planned for the end of September or beginning of October. Please keep Eila in your thoughts and prayers as we figure out how to adjust and deal with these new changes.