Garrett is now considered....
CANCER FREE!!!!
The doctors in Utah said that the tumor is only about 2mm big and that since there is no other tumors left in his body they are almost positive that it is just scar tissue. They also said about 5 years ago and CT scan wouldn't have even shown a tumor that small.
So Garrett has to have blood work done in three months and then another CT scan in 6 months. Other than that for now the only thing he still has to do is take the blood thinners.
YAY!!!!!! Can I get a Woot Woot!
I think that we are planning on having a celabratory party soon...so stay posted for the details!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
CT Scan results
Well, Garrett had a CT scan on Wednesday. He has his last round of Chemo on Tuesday and then went in to the Cassia Regional Hospital to have a CT scan with contrast done. This was done to see if the chemo had done its job and gotten rid of all of the tumors in his body. Garrett hates getting this done because he has to drink this "nasty stuff" (as he calls it). I saw it and trust me when I say that it didn't look appealing. It was flavored apple smoothie but G said it didn't taste like apple or smoothie so he doesn't know why they even call it that :)
They had the CT scan on Wednesday and then headed to Twin to meet with Dr. Symingon his oncologist on Thursday for the results. They actually brought the results with them but Dad said he couldn't read what they said because it was so full of "medical mumbo jumbo".
When they got there Dr. Symington showed them what the scans showed. The tumors in his lungs are gone...but the two blood clots are still there. Much smaller than before but still there. If he was not in chemo and healthy the clots would most likely have dissolved by now but due to everything else it takes the body longer to dissolve. The blood clots are still a worry of sorts but not as major of concern as before since now they are much smaller.
The tumors in his lymph nodes are all gone too, except for one very small on one lymph node. Dr. Symington said she didn't want to make any decisions without consulting his other oncologist in Utah first. So Mom, Dad, and Garrett went shopping for a couple of hours while the Dr. called down to the Hunstman Center to discuss what the next course of action is. When they got back to the hospital a couple of hours later still no decision had been made.
Dr. Symington said that they have three options.
1- Do 2 more rounds of Chemo: She said this isn't really a good option because it has already done its job and his body has been through enough. His body has a harder and harder time making new white blood cells after every treatment so she really doesn't want to put him through more.
2- Remove the lymph node and the tumor: This isn't really a good option either due to the blood clots. While they are smaller in order to do surgery they would have to take him off of blood thinners and that could cause more blood clots and complications. It is a risk that she is not really sure is necessary at this point.
3- Do nothing and monitor the tumor to see if it really is a tumor or just scar tissue: This for obvious reasons isn't really the best option either. If it is a tumor and they do nothing it may grow bigger or spread again. They would do a CT scan again in 6-8 weeks to check on it and keep doing CT scans every 6-8 weeks to monitor it. Again, if it was a growing tumor than a lot could happen in 6-8 weeks.
Basically, Garrett is not the textbook patient. The doctor is uncomfortable with all three options. So what has been decided is that there is a Tumor Board that will meet in SLC to discuss all of Garrett's options and decide which is the best possible course of action in this situation. Apparently the Tumor Board meets when the course of action doesn't follow the normal protocal. The Tumor Board meets on Tuesday so we should hear something from them either Wednesday or Thursday.
Pray that their decision will be the most beneficial to Garrett and hopefully get this Cancer overwith!
They had the CT scan on Wednesday and then headed to Twin to meet with Dr. Symingon his oncologist on Thursday for the results. They actually brought the results with them but Dad said he couldn't read what they said because it was so full of "medical mumbo jumbo".
When they got there Dr. Symington showed them what the scans showed. The tumors in his lungs are gone...but the two blood clots are still there. Much smaller than before but still there. If he was not in chemo and healthy the clots would most likely have dissolved by now but due to everything else it takes the body longer to dissolve. The blood clots are still a worry of sorts but not as major of concern as before since now they are much smaller.
The tumors in his lymph nodes are all gone too, except for one very small on one lymph node. Dr. Symington said she didn't want to make any decisions without consulting his other oncologist in Utah first. So Mom, Dad, and Garrett went shopping for a couple of hours while the Dr. called down to the Hunstman Center to discuss what the next course of action is. When they got back to the hospital a couple of hours later still no decision had been made.
Dr. Symington said that they have three options.
1- Do 2 more rounds of Chemo: She said this isn't really a good option because it has already done its job and his body has been through enough. His body has a harder and harder time making new white blood cells after every treatment so she really doesn't want to put him through more.
2- Remove the lymph node and the tumor: This isn't really a good option either due to the blood clots. While they are smaller in order to do surgery they would have to take him off of blood thinners and that could cause more blood clots and complications. It is a risk that she is not really sure is necessary at this point.
3- Do nothing and monitor the tumor to see if it really is a tumor or just scar tissue: This for obvious reasons isn't really the best option either. If it is a tumor and they do nothing it may grow bigger or spread again. They would do a CT scan again in 6-8 weeks to check on it and keep doing CT scans every 6-8 weeks to monitor it. Again, if it was a growing tumor than a lot could happen in 6-8 weeks.
Basically, Garrett is not the textbook patient. The doctor is uncomfortable with all three options. So what has been decided is that there is a Tumor Board that will meet in SLC to discuss all of Garrett's options and decide which is the best possible course of action in this situation. Apparently the Tumor Board meets when the course of action doesn't follow the normal protocal. The Tumor Board meets on Tuesday so we should hear something from them either Wednesday or Thursday.
Pray that their decision will be the most beneficial to Garrett and hopefully get this Cancer overwith!
Last Chemo Treatment.
This is a short little video of G at his last round of Chemo. It was really cool because I (Robyn) was able to take him. It was a really surreal experiance. This treatment was very short. They gave him a bag of saline to hydrate him and then gave him his chemo along with another back of Saline. It took only about and hour and 45 minutes or so. We watched a couple of CSI reruns on the TV. It was very surreal because the room where he gets chemo is just a really large open room with recliner chairs and cabinets everywhere. In each of the chairs was someone who was getting chemo. There were women and men, young and old. Each of them had someone sitting with them and a blanket wrapped over their legs. I was so grateful that I was able to share that with Garrett.
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