Results.

Bone marrow biopsy: Negative.
GFR (kidney function): Normal.
CT: Clear.
Bone Scan: Fine, except for a spot on his right shin. Hmmm....

What does all this mean? Here's the break down: The bone marrow being negative continues to be great news. No cancer in there. The GFR test is also great news. Andrew's kidneys have taken a beating from a year of treatment, yet continue to perform well. (The kid may have cancer, but he was apparently blessed with strong organs). The clear CT is also, obviously, great news. There are no detectable masses or spots, meaning that they do not see anything in the liver area in particular (questionable after the last MiBG scan) or in the hip/upper leg (origin of the limp). Of course, that also means that we have no idea what is behind this strange outward turning of his leg and funny walk. They see no evidence of avascular necrosis (yay!) and no fluid build up in the hip; this is certainly all good, but it means that we have no explanation for that little oddity....

Last, but not least, is the bone scan. This is largely a good result, but it is not perfect. The good thing about a bone scan is that it shows any "defect" on the bones; the bad thing about a bone scan is that it shows ALL "defects" on the bones. In other words, the bone scan does not discriminate. It is non-specific that way, registering bruises, infections, and, yes, cancer. So, we feel pretty good and are reasonably confident that Andrew remains NED, but--and this simply must be our lot--once again, we did not get the overwhelming CLEAR sign that we were hoping for.... Andrew will go back to City of Hope the week after this for a more detailed look at this spot on the shin.

In the meantime, we're off to brand some cows! Have a great Easter weekend.

Paul