The pessimist's viewpoint

Mike always puts such a positive spin on things....here's what I'm thinking...."good golly, cut us some slack, I need a vacation in a bad way". I feel like I'm up to my ears and fingers in phone calls and emails.

Mike described the hiccup...bad vaccine....small chance of that happening, but that seems to be a pattern for us recently. So, after phone calls and emails...below are the options the doc outlined for me:

1. Proceed with BMT now (standard approach), do not try vaccine or MIBG treatment

Advantage: no delay
Disadvantage: With aggressive NBL, relapse risk is high

2. Collect stem cells for vaccine generation, proceed with transplant immediately after collection complete
Advantage: gives her a chance to do vaccine trial
Disadvantage: delays BMT in order to do the collection, may still not be able to generate vaccine (although contamination twice is not very likely)

3. Change plans to MIBG based BMT
Advantage: guarantees getting something extra to fight NBL
Disadvantage: MIBG may not be available at this time, not sure if she is eligible for that trial.

Again, this is a very aggressive cancer and there is no known cure that guarantees a long life...but we do what we can.

The positive side as I see it is that we have an awesome team of doctors (that keeps expanding) and they are all working closely with us to make the best decision.

So, as usual, keep the prayers coming!!