Round 1 Oral Chemo check up with Dr. C

     Eric's appointment went well today. His dad Gayle came with us too. Both of Eric's white and red cell counts are on the low side but not worrisome. Platelets look good and his markers are normal. He weighted in at 159! So awesome!

Daddy daughter fun!

      We weren't shown the CT scan like we have before but Dr. Chandramouli said both scan results came back good. There are nodules left in the brain, lungs, and liver but they are continuing to shrink!! So with tumor markers at normal levels and nodules shrinking means that there is no active cancer in Eric's body. We weren't given a rate at which they are shrinking. Can the tumor nodules shrink all the way away...yes. It depends on the size and how many. In the future it's an option after Eric is done with the maintenance chemo (about 10 more weeks) to go in surgically and remove what is left. It's not something we would rush into because we want to see if the nodules keep shrinking.  I have mentioned before but will remind you that some nodules can grow in place called teratoma. Once the nodules start doing that then they will be removed. After the oral chemo treatment is over we will re-due scans and check tumor markers and wait to see if the nodules keep shrinking. He will continue to do the Etopiside oral chemo maintenance for two more rounds. The second one starting today. 

Tayvia is on the left. Eric on the right. Love their big brown eyes! Cuties!

     We talked about Eric having the hives but it's likely related to the Bactrum so Eric switched to Septra and will take that instead. Eric has a cold but no fevers or green mucus which is good.

     We also talked about Eric's hearing. Dr. C wanted to know if it a safety issue? No. Does it affect work? No. (Many have asked if Eric has returned to work full time..yes) Therefore there is no rush to get his hearing checked again or rush to get hearing aids. We will wait and see how it improves on its own as the little hairs in his ears grow back. Yes, he likely has some permanent hearing loss but so do people who work in loud construction type jobs. I guess I'm the only one who will need to be patient with it. The loud music, loud movie/t.v. volume, and not being able to talk quietly will have to wait. Like any of those things are a big deal anyway right?!