ad astra per aspera

Ok I am going to try my best to summarize what we learned from the Dr. today.

Chris has a high chance of going into initial complete remission (75% – 95%).

He will probably get a PET scan next Thursday.  This scan will let the Dr. determine if he is already in remission.  Depending upon the results of this scan he may only need to complete 6 cycles instead of 8.  He will need to complete radiation treatments after he completes the chemo cycles.
Chris will be getting lab work done at the cancer center early Thursday morning, pending these results he will start round 5 that same day.

There is about a 40%-50% chance of Chris staying in remission.  The length of maintenance chemo is not set in stone, it could be a year or 2 years.  During maintenance he will meet with the Dr. once a month and have weekly lab draws, oral & IV doses of the some of the same drugs he is on now (altho at much lower dosages).  He will be tested every 2-4 months for re-occurrence of the cancer.
If he does relapse then the Dr. would look into the possibility of an un-matched donor for a bone marrow transplant and he would need to complete another type of chemo regimen, he would not repeat the hyper-cvad regimen.

I feel much better after talking with his oncologist.  I believe Chris does too, he is still mostly very very worn out from this trip to the hospital.  He did not express any interest in quitting treatment when we spoke with his doctor.  I did talk to his doctor about the fact that Chris has been treating for bipolar disorder in the past.  Chris is currently prescribed an anti-anxiety medication and the dosage has been doubled since Saturday.

I am going to take care of some errands/housework and then take a nap.  Chris is sleeping in bed.
Our plan is to wake up tomorrow and head your way depending upon Chris’ health.  Since his platelets are still very low he must be very careful.  If he falls or starts bleeding he will have to go to the hospital.
I will give you guys a call in the morning and let you know how he feels and when/if we are headed your way.
Even tho Chris will probably sleep all day and might not respond to a text message I know it would mean a lot if you guys send him a supportive text message.

Love,
Amanda


(I sent this email to both his parents about 6 hours ago.  They read it and neither sent Chris any supportive texts.  They did not visit Chris while he was in the hospital or call him.)