Drew's Story

2016 was a year we all will never forget.  Drew was diagnosed with Stage 4 Neuroblastoma in late January.  Which meant that the cancer of the nervous system had formed a very large tumor on his adrenal gland (13 cm across), and had also spread to his bone marrow (making up 35% of the marrow at the time), and onto most of his bones.  He endured so much last year, and I did my best to document, share, and learn from it all on our CaringBridge page.  I have all of my journal entries archived here for reference or to catch up on our whole story.

Drew Becker

Thursday 1-20-16. We took Drew to the ER since he had some bruising and his side was tender when he was picked up. Drew and Heidi went by ambulance to Mayo in Rochester for further evaluation and testing. We had an ultra sound and X-ray when we first arrived which revealed an area of concern in his abdomen. We were sent back to ultra sound for another scan of his abdomen which revealed what appeared to be a mass. They took blood work and admitted us to the hospital.

Friday 1-21-16. Due to the suspicion of a mass Drew had an C-Scan done which identified a tumor which is approximately covering half of his abdomen. After all of these tests were looked at and studied we were told that the tumor is cancer (at this point they do not believe that the Cancer has spread but a lot more testing will be done early next week to make sure and they will also identify the type and stage of the cancer. We will be staying in Rochester tonight and may be able to go home over the weekend. The tumor is wrapped around some critical areas so it can not just be removed this point. On Monday Drew will have another scan done in Rochester and Tuesday they are going to perform surgery to put in a central line, do a biopsy, and check his bone marrow. After the results of next week's test the most likely scenario is Chemo therapy to reduce the size of the mass so they can do surgery to remove it. Molly is staying in Emmetsburg with Grandpa and Grandma Becker for now.

1-22 update

We were told at 2 AM That they were able to move Drew's surgery up to today to do the biopsy, put in a central line, and bone marrow test. We are excited for the news because we can get a complete diagnosis and start treatment sooner so Drew can start to be more comfortable. Please pray for a successful surgery and a quick recovery.

1-22-16 surgery update

Drew went down for surgery at 1:00 and we were able to pick him up at 5:00. All three segments of the surgery went well and he is sleeping peacefully now. We will know a lot more information early next week once the results come back. Our hope is to leave the hospital over the weekend and have some outpatient test early next week.

1-23-16 update

Drew is continuing to recover from his surgery yesterday.... he is very sleepy today and needed a blood transfusion this morning due to lower red blood cell counts. They will continue to monitor him through the weekend and into early next week at the hospital. They have also scheduled a MIBG for Wednesday and we will get the results from the bone marrow and biopsy early next week. Once we have all the results they will put together a treatment plan which should start on Thursday or Friday. After the initial Cemo treatment and monitoring we should be released from the hospital (we are hoping next weekend).

1-24-16

Drew is a lot more awake today. He has been up since 8 AM and has not taken a nap yet. He walked up and down the hallway and played in the play room a little bit. He also started to drink better and had a little yogurt and gold fish! They are reducing the amount of fluid they are giving him and with him able to get up and about again he should be able to start eating more. Heidi is coming back to the hospital today after spending the night with Molly in Austin. We have a long road ahead and please continue to pray for little Drew.

1-26-16 update

We found out last night that the Cancer is also present in Drew's bone marrow which makes his cancer stage 4. Due to this he will need a lot stronger chemotherapy and it will take longer to cure him. There will be a combination of several things including chemotherapy, bone marrow transplant, surgery, and probably radiation. They are going to start chemotherapy this afternoon and we know Drew will be hospitalized for at least the next two weeks. They are very confident that after this first round of chemotherapy the tumor will shrink and he will start to feel relief. They are giving him medicine to hopefully reduce the side effects on his body but it will probably be a long week for him. We are taking one day at a time and looking forward to small victories as we start treatment less than one week after we found out. Molly is staying in Ames with Jim and Deb until this weekend. Thank you for all your prayers and support!