Now, more on that transplant. First, let me explain what exactly the process is. He will be given high dose chemo at the beginning. This is done to continue to fight, with "big guns", the cancer that is still lingering in Drew's body, and the reason we are doing the whole thing. This chemo will essentially wipe out his bone marrow. I've read "toxic" and "lethal" to describe this high dose chemo (something that no mother wants to read their child will receive). The side effects will be more intense, he'll have mouth sores, some skin breakdown, in addition to the "usual" nausea. But here is where those stem cells come in that we went through such lengths to obtain. They'll inject him with his stem cells after the high dose chemo is administered, which will rescue his bone marrow. While we wait for the regrowth, his immune system will be almost completely gone. Which is why we'll spend this entire cycle in the ICU transplant wing, where they have their own HEPA filter and he'll be in isolation until he is totally recovered. This whole process, we expect to take about a month. Maybe now it makes sense why I've been so anxious for this step his treatment. But I have been praying, and take comfort in the experience we've had thus far with God giving him, and us, strength to overcome every part of this trial as we've come to it.
Now, today, we had a meeting where an Oncologist presented new research, showing that back to back transplants can give a 15-20% better chance of no relapse (which with Nueroblastoma, is a really uphill battle to treat the second time). This study was just presented at a conference last weekend, and one of our Oncologists was there and immediately thought of Drew. It's not protocol yet, the study still needs to be peer reviewed and published, but these results are very exciting. The team highly recommends us doing the two transplants as opposed to the one we had planned. We gave approval, and they are working on getting insurance on board. If all goes through, next week we could start on schedule with the first of two bone marrow transplants, and a major, if not the biggest, step in getting Drew cured. Here's a link to an article that explains the study very well:
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_159243.html
The timing for this is nothing short of miraculous in our minds. One week later and it would have been too late for Drew to do the two transplants instead of one (the doses of chemo are different if you do two as opposed to one). God continues to show up in big ways, and remind us that He is in control, even in the face of such scary situations.
So our prayer requests are for us to enjoy this week together as a family. Josh doesn't have any work travel (thank goodness!), and we should all be together in good health until we begin the transplants. We also ask for prayers that insurance approves the new treatment plan. Obviously these transplants are very expensive, insurance participation would be huge. In anticipation for the transplants, also pray that Drew has as much comfort as possible, and that he continues to show everyone how strong he is! Lastly, peace for us, his parents, as we prepare to bring him into what we hope will be the hardest thing he'll have to get through in his life, but also quite literally could save his life.
~Heidi
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