A glimmer of hope

On Thursday, Joel and I were able to talk with Dr. Peter Ehrlich.  Dr. Ehrlich is a surgeon who is the chair of the Children's Oncology Group (COG) bilateral Wilm's tumor study.  It was so incredibly helpful to talk to Dr. Ehrlich.  He said that he has seen other kids like Eila, who seem to just have a predisposition to developing kidney tumors.  It is so nice to hear from an expert with extensive Wilm's tumor experience that she may be rare but she's not unique (I don't think anyone with cancer wants to be unique).  He will look at Eila's scans next week but was optimistic and encouraging about surgery options.  He emphasized the importance of doing all we can to still save as much kidney as possible because the benefits of keeping her "native" kidney outweighs the risk of leaving tissue that could develop another tumor.  Although he can make no promises, he said he has had patients who have had multiple tumors and resections, but have still managed to make it into their teens before getting to advanced kidney disease.  So while we feel frustrated by it, it does seem to mean that we don't need a lot of interactions with nephrology yet -- although we are still working on getting her kidney function tested more thoroughly.  And we're a little more ready for our next meeting on Monday.  Thank you all so much for your kind words and your prayers for Eila.