Our Oncologist stopped by Cassandra's room last night to give us the results. Unfortunately, her cancer cannot be treated and she will remain on hospice. Cassandra has a condition called leptomeningeal disease. This basically means she has tumors in the lining of her brain and its very hard to treat. Because of their placement, our oncologist said it would not improve the quality or length of her life to do anything about them.
The good news is she did not have any bleeding or giant new tumors inside her brain. The reason for her pain is because she has cancer cells floating in the tissue and fluid that protect her brain and spinal cord. Sometimes these cancer cells will collect on a spot and cause her severe pain.
So our new plan is to try to get Cassandra back home. We are starting the pain patch today. We have to start it on low doses and slowly work up to the dose she will need to cover her pain needs. This may take a few days but I feel pretty confident that we can get her home by the weekend if she continues to do well.
Overall, this is pretty crushing news but we are trying to look at any silver lining we can. She is still doing well but ultimately there is a clock ticking we just don't know how long she has. As long as she continues to get stronger we know she has more time.
Eric
Eric, Thank you for your post. May you know we still are praying for all of you and may Jesus walk beside each & everyone of you, giving you the continued hope and each days blessings.
ReplyDeleteAt Mount Sinai hospital, we specialize in the diagnosis, management, and treatment of leptomeningeal disease.
ReplyDeleteThoughts and prayers are with Cassandra and her family. May God comfort you in his time of need.
ReplyDeleteOur God is still bigger than this. Stay positive and Bless your family.
ReplyDeleteLove to all. Anita
Give her lots of hugs from us! You all have been so strong and positive through all of this. We hope for pain free days ahead! Please tell her we think about her everyday! Love to you guys!
ReplyDeleteGirl, Superman don't have a thing on you, well maybe he does he can fly and we haven't seen you do that yet. You have inspired so many of us with your story while all of the time being so positive, just unbelievably incredible. You know Halloween is coming up and we was wondering what we were going to do this year? Your dad tell us your taste buds are changing and Pumpkin Spiced M&M's may not be your favorite any longer. So you need to be thinking about it and let us know what you want with the sky being the limit because we have connections from Madison County Arkansas all the way to China, so what sounds good to you this year? Cassandra hang in there we all are constantly praying for you and your family so we know he is listening. None of us can even imagine what you have had to endure but we all have faith the Lord has brought you this far without reason.
ReplyDeleteLUV YOU
JB Hunt gang.
P.S
Eric like another post mentioned thank you for keeping us posted, all of us check several times everyday even on the weekends hoping for good news.
May God Bless