Liver Spot

This week did not end the way we had hoped: One of Andrew's scans this week revealed a spot on his liver. It is unknown at this time what, exactly, it is and, specifically, whether it is Neuroblastoma. All other tests and scans appear to be normal, though we are awaiting a final report from the radiologist on his MiBG scan.

Our oncologist met with us on Friday to review the images and talk about what it all means. His stance throughout the appointment was that, while this is scary, he did not necessarily feel that it was a case of relapse. He had his reasons, too: Its location in the liver, its ill-defined appearance, etc. But, with all of that said, anytime a child who has had cancer has a "spot" appear anywhere, there is the strong suspicion that it is more cancer--especially when you are dealing with a cancer in which greater than 50% of its survivors will relapse....

Where we are left at this moment is in a certain amount of shock and disbelief and fear. Strangely, we are not panicked. We are taking all of this in, we are doing our research, and consulting with others far more knowledgeable than ourselves. We have come across several stories from other NB families who have had "relapse" in the liver, only to discover the spots were benign. We have even been directed to some published articles about this phenomenon occurring in NB kids post-treatment. We are taking some level of comfort from the fact that the rest of his lab work was normal. Of course, we are eager to read the final report on the MiBG scan, as it will either further comfort us or corroborate the findings of the CT scan. In short, we are hoping for the best, but planning for the worst.

As we left it with our oncologist on Friday--and barring any surprising news in the meantime--the plan will be to re-scan in six weeks, rather than the three-month schedule we were on. At that time, we will hope the spot has resolved itself. Until that time, we will grind through the interminable span that is the next six weeks and try not to let the "what ifs" consume us.

We need your thoughts, prayers, positive energy, crossed fingers--whatever you have to offer--that this is nothing more than a false alarm. We will gladly take countless fire drills as we move forward, we just don't want any more real fires. Besides, the next six weeks are extremely eventful for Andrew: He is going to Disneyland with his cousins, he starts kindergarten, he is playing in AYSO for the first time ... he's got too much (living) to do to be sick again.

Paul