Mar 27, 2009, 10:42:43 AM
to Kelly Chen Kwock, Yvonne Ng, Kenbow Chen
Summary of yesterday's meeting with Dr. Colman and this morning's phone conversation.
Tiff
- Pathologists did not have a final diagnosis of Anderson's frontal lobe tumor yet (as of yesterday's appointment). He said that it's more difficult to diagnose because it's not the normal, everyday GBM.
- Without a diagnosis, Anderson will not qualify for clinical trials.
- Phone call this morning-> They have a final diagnosis of his tumors and they are not really GBM. They are progressions of Anderson's original tumor, the anaplastic ganglioglioma. The cerebellar tumor has progression more on the glioma side, the frontal tumor has progression in more of the ganglion/neuronal component. I forgot to write down the actual name, but he said something like astrocytoma. We'll have to request the report to get the actual name.
- Because of the diagnosis, Anderson doesn't qualify for the GBM trials at MD Anderson
- He suggests:
- MRI of the spine and a lumbar puncture - to see if there are any other areas that need to be addressed and/or any other tumors there. The Lumbar puncture will tell us if there are any cancer cells in his spinal fluid.
- Radiation to the frontal area, pending records of Anderson's last radiation at UCLA. (Kelly, do you think you can ask Nanette/Stacy to fax MD Anderson the Radiation reports Fax: (713) 794-4999 to neuro-oncology? They need to know exactly what was given and where it was given in the brain so they don't overlap areas and also so they don't give Anderson too much radiation) The sooner they get those measurements, the sooner they can begin and the sooner we can go home.
- They gave us the option of going back home to do radiation, but driving back and forth to UCLA doesn't seem like something Anderson wants to do right now. We talked about it and we'd like to stay here for the radiation treatment, and as well as do the PT/OT/speech pathology at MD Anderson. We feel that we are treated better here and we're not constantly frustrated by the long waits, the inability to speak to a doctor, and the general inefficiency of UCLA. Not to mention Westwood traffic.
- Wait on the chemo - they feel that if the tumor responds to radiation, that the addition of the chemo would only be toxic to the body and reduce Anderson's quality of life. They would like to continue to monitor closely after the radiation and will start on chemo if radiation doesn't work or after it stops working.
- For us to do:
- We can work on doing the supplements again to build up Anderson's strength, his cells, and his immune system. We can take the OPC3, the veggie/fruit pills, and also some other supplements that Dr. Yen Lai suggests to us from the genetic tests that Anderson did.
- Make sure the records get to MD Anderson asap.
- Request the reports (when they're ready) and possibly get second opinions.
- Continue to pray.
- Encouragement from Judges 7:2-7
- 2 The LORD said to Gideon, "You have too many warriors with you. If I let all of you fight the Midianites, the Israelites will boast to me that they saved themselves by their own strength. 3 Therefore, tell the people, 'Whoever is timid or afraid may leave and go home.'" Twenty-two thousand of them went home, leaving only ten thousand who were willing to fight. 4 But the LORD told Gideon, "There are still too many! Bring them down to the spring, and I will sort out who will go with you and who will not." 5 When Gideon took his warriors down to the water, the LORD told him, "Divide the men into two groups. In one group put all those who cup water in their hands and lap it up with their tongues like dogs. In the other group put all those who kneel down and drink with their mouths in the stream." 6 Only three hundred of the men drank from their hands. All the others got down on their knees and drank with their mouths in the stream. 7 The LORD told Gideon, "With these three hundred men I will rescue you and give you victory over the Midianites. Send all the others home."
- Anderson and I are encouraged by Gideon's story from the Bible and see parallels from the plight of the Israelites being oppressed by the Midianites. God is closing the doors on man's strength and man's ability. God told clinical trials and chemo to "go home" and now we're left with just 300 men to fight the war (radiation). Although it may seem impossible for us to have victory with only 300 men (just radiation) on our side... God will save us and all the credit and glory will be from God and not men.
- Anderson and I both struggle with the situation, but we are at peace and have faith that God will rescue us and give us victory. So don't worry about us. We're going to be OK.
Tiff
Mar 27, 2009, 11:58:37 AM
to prayers-for-anderson@googlegroups.com
Hey Tiff! Thanks for sending so many thorough updates. We are thinking of you two and praying for you every day. |
Mar 29, 2009, 11:44:31 AM
to Prayers for Anderson
Hi everyone,
This weekend
Anderson
Next week:
Pray for:
Thank you all for keeping us in prayer, encouraging us, and supporting us!!!
<3,
Tiff
This weekend
- We moved into the extended stay apartment. It is fully furnished and it's cheaper than the hotel... although it doesn't have some of the conveniences that we've grown used to... but we're learning to manage. It is much quieter here and the rooms are brighter and more open. Anderson is more comfortable here.
- I'm looking fwd to getting the key to the fitness center so I can work out and also so Anderson can maybe use the exercise bike to exercise his legs without having to stand or balance himself too much.
- Our address is:
- 2255 Braeswood Park #2316, Houston, TX 77030
- Call us on our cell phones, but if for some reason you can't get through, the unit phone number is XXXXXXX
Anderson
- He's been feeling... up and down. Sometimes he feels good and wants to eat and go out, most of the time, he's tired and wants to rest.
- Encouragement - he still needs lots of verbal encouragement. This is not my forte but I'm trying to be more verbally encouraging to him and praying that God blesses me with wisdom and the words to say.
- Last night we did devotions together and journaled. That was nice.
- He's eating healthy but not restricting his diet too much right now because he needs to eat and gain back some weight. Right now, his favorite thing to eat is chocolate pudding with banana slices. We're looking into finding a pizza place with whole wheat crust. I found a few places, but we're outside their delivery zone. The only place that would possibly deliver to us is closed on Sundays.
- Supplements: He's taking a multi-vitamin, OPC3, another immune vitamin, mushroom extract, and propolis. He'll also be taking the vegetable/fruit powders and the Korean grain drink. We also have resveratrol to fit in somewhere in the day too.
Next week:
- PT/OT MWF one hour each. Pray that Anderson does well and that he starts to see improvements. It's encouraging to him when he sees improvement and when I point it out to him.
- Monday - speech pathology and an appt with the radiation oncologist. Pray that the appt with the radiation oncologist goes well and we can start ASAP and come home ASAP.
- Thursday - MRI of the spine. Pray that these results would be clean and show no additional tumors on the spine.
- Next Monday - Lumbar Puncture - pray that the results would be clean.
- The new apartment - it has a washer and dryer, lots of windows and natural light, and a little more room for us to move around. MUCHO praise for the washer/dryer. I went 2 weeks on maybe 4 days worth of clothes. For some reason, Anderson has a LOT more clothing here than I do even though he wears a lot less. He's only been in pajamas. Anyway, I feel SO much better with clean laundry and our closet smells very nicely of laundry detergent. Also, the new apt has huge walk-in closets for both bedrooms. I like being able to put away things in the closet. It's nice.
- Car - it's nice having my car here. It's also nice having my brother here to drive Anderson's parents around. They're surprisingly pretty high maintenance. I guess they're used to having lots of things and services nearby. I'm fine knowing there's a target down the street. They need to go to the market a lot, go to the salon, go get this and that... it's just nice that my brother's here to do that.
- Internet here works - they only gave us one mobile broadband device. Yesterday, we thought we'd have to wait until Monday, but we found out it works today. PTL! Pray that my brother can fix the network so that we can all be online... or on Monday, pray that we can have another device so both me and Anderson's dad can be online at the same time.
Pray for:
- Transportation - The leasing agent has offered to drive us to appointments... like our own personal shuttle. This would make things easier for us and also wouldn't put such a burden on my brother, me, or Anderson's dad to find parking, etc. etc. Pray that this would work out for us.
- Parents - Anderson's parents are adjusting to life in Texas, but it's more difficult for them to get around and to find what they're looking for. Pray for their adjustment and also for them to feel at home. Also pray for our communication to improve. It has been improving, but it could always be better.
- Continued improvement in health - pray that he will continue to eat, exercise and build up his strength. Also pray for his mental, emotional, and spiritual strength to improve so that he can pull himself out of bed everyday.
Thank you all for keeping us in prayer, encouraging us, and supporting us!!!
<3,
Tiff
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