Scan week this week

Summer is flying fast.  We are doing our best to get the most out of it.  Last week, the older kids went to camp and Lisa, Mike and I spent the day at the lake on Monday.  On Tuesday, Lisa and I went to Greenfield Village with some friends and the first thing the group wanted to do was the carousel....as Lisa waited in line watching it go round an round she either made herself nausea or her chemo kicked in. I managed to get her off to the side before she threw up the red kool-aid and potato chips she had for breakfast .  She sat on the grass while I went to the bathroom to clean her shoes and bring back paper towels. By the time I was back she asked me if i thought the other kids would go again when they got off the ride, because she felt better and was now ready!! Needless to say, I said no and watched over her closely for the next 3 hours as we battled the heat and she skipped around the place...the kid is a trooper.  Wednesday, Lisa and I went to Jungle Java and she spent a good few hours running around with her friend and her baby cousin MacKenzie.  Thursday was doctor day.  Friday, we headed up north to the campgrounds near Michigan Adventure.  Lisa was very excited knowing that there was only one more day until she saw her siblings.  On Saturday, we picked them up from camp (they were not very excited to see us...the LOVE camp and wanted to take the bus home with their new friends).  We spent the afternoon dipping our toes into cold Lake Michigan and swimming in the warmer, adjacent Duck Lake.  That evening we had a bonfire and Sunday morning we were joined by another McMaster clan to hit up Michigan Adventure.  The kids all had a great time and Lisa even tried out a roller coaster! (You can see some pics on facebook) We closed the park and headed back to camp.  On Monday, we packed up camp and spent the afternoon leisurely tubing down the White River in Muskegon.  We returned home last night and today began first day of scan week.  Today, Lisa only needed an exam and injection.   Tomorrow will be the long day...she will have anesthesia and then have an MIBG scan, CAT scan, and bone marrow biopsy.  Thursday is just MIBG scan.

We, of course, our hoping for stable or improved scans.  Unless there is an enormous decrease in Lisa's disease, we have already decided that we will be pulling her off the most recent chemo study she has been on.  While the side effects haven't been too horrific, it doesn't make sense to keep putting her thru them when there are other drugs that could work to keep the cancer at bay without making her feel lousy for a week at a time. Lisa's doc has already indicated there is another study that looks very promising that they want to put her on and they are working diligently to get her into it.  We won't know until next week whether or not she has a spot.  This means we may need to cut our vacation to Topsail short......ughhhhhhh!!!  But we will do what we need to do.

That being said, please keep fingers crossed and prayers going that Lisa's scans come back with good results.  And while you are sending up your prayers, please add a few extra prayers....one of thanks for my Mom whose doc says her cancer appears to be responding to treatment....one of strength for neuroblastoma warrior, Deshawn, whose road is coming to an end....one of guidance for Bridget whose scans have come back with more cancer and the docs and family are trying to determine next best steps.

Hope everyone is enjoying summer and living each day fully!