Chemo #6

From Sept/Oct 2012

Today was Eila's sixth chemo treatment, and it also marked the return of Dr. Thomas (Eila's primary oncologist). It was very reassuring to finally see and talk to him again, he has an unbelievably calming presence. Dr. Thomas confirmed that there isn't a lot of data for metachronous bilateral Wilms' tumor but expressed optimism for Eila's future because of the amount of shrinkage they've seen in the tumor so far (a good sign that our current chemo strategy is effective), and that she is a good candidate for nephron sparing surgery (an important survival factor in the literature). It's good to have him back.

This was Eila's last chemo treatment before surgery next week to remove her new tumor. She also had her first MRI today, to give the surgeon a more accurate picture of the current state of her tumor - it now measures 2.1 x 1.3 x 1.4 cm.

The other dramatic decrease in the last 3 days is the amount of hair on Eila's head! Since Monday morning, she has reminded me of Pig-Pen from Peanuts, except that it's hair instead of dirt surrounding her. It is coming out both in large clumps and individual strands.

From Sept/Oct 2012

I'm not sure if this picture represents it well but I would guess she's lost ~60% of her hair already, mostly from the back. The change is now dramatic enough that Annikka commented on it today. It isn't bothering Eila overall, although she doesn't like having hair on her pacifier, stuck to her fingers, etc. Just one more thing that's different this time around.