Flashback

So, looking back, things took off with such warp speed following Samuel's original diagnosis that the blog doesn't ever really fill you in on the details of what happened, what the doctors said, THEN what happened, what his treatment really includes, and ultimately the "medical" prognosis. Oopsie :) Apparently there are moments when I'm not so detail-oriented and go head on into victory mode, ha!


The Discovery. With Daddy deployed in Iraq, obviously Mom was handling day-to-day kid "management" (ie., bathing, monitoring general physical welfare, etc.). On a Wednesday evening in the tub, I noticed that one of Samuel's testicles was significantly larger than the other (quite significantly). As a female with limited understanding of how all these boy parts work, I wasn't sure if it was just some natural thing that happens from time to time - obviously not immediately suspecting a "problem". By Thursday afternoon, the "swelling" had not subsided at all, so I called the kids' pediatrician's office for their opinion regarding whether or not I should bring him by for an exam. They told me to bring him in immediately for fear that it may have been a strangulated testicle or something that required emergency surgery. Other possibilities included a hernia, a cyst, or even a tumor. Enter adrenaline burst #1. We were taken in for an ultrasound which we were later told by a resident urologist showed a large mass in Samuel's testicle. The head urologist was called in (even though by this time it was well after 10 pm!) and after a loooong wait in the ER, he came to tell us that in his 30 years of practice he had "never seen anything like it" and basically had NO CLUE what was inside the testicle. He advised that we have "urgent" surgery to visually examine and biopsy the mass because a strong possibility existed that it was cancerous. Adrenaline burst #2. It is IMPOSSIBLE to describe the flush that overtakes you when someone uses the "c-word" regarding your child. Inexplicable. Three days before Christmas, we went in for the surgery that began as exploratory under certain conditions: (a) if a tumor was confirmed, it would be immediately biopsied; and then (2) if biopsy positive for malignancy, tumor + entire contents of scrotal sac would be immediately removed. We would be kept informed at each stage.

The Diagnosis. The urologist (the department head at Children's after seeing us in the ER also performed the surgery himself) called me + Brandon's mom into a consultation room in the surgical waiting area to tell us that the mass was, in fact, a rhabdomyosarcoma (soft tissue tumor) which would mean he needed to take everything out, and he prepared us that chemotherapy would be imminent. The conversation was brief, to the point, and he was very helpful as we processed the life-altering information. Samuel recovered well from his first ever surgical procedure, and I praise GOD that first experience at Children's went so well because it set a great tone for our subsequent - and frequent - visits to the hospital, including further surgeries + procedures. Samuel's favorite part of his surgeries has been the bubble gum flavored gel the nurses put on the inside of the anesthesia masks - the trick is that yummy smelling stuff makes the kids want to breathe in deeply, thereby inhaling the "sleeping gas". We have taken each one of his masks home to share with Trinity because Samuel thought they were so cool :) Appointments were quickly scheduled for us with the oncologist and surgeries/procedures all scheduled within a week after Christmas (they were wonderful enough to let us come home to celebrate the holiday in full force before the year of changes began).

The Plan. We are blessed with two amazing oncologists, Dr. Nicholas Yeager + Dr. Bhyuvana Setty (backed up by a truly incredible support staff). Dr. Yeager explained in detail the medical side of things (occurrence rates, treatment options, morbidity + survival rates, recurrence rates, etc.). Samuel's tumor was classified as embryonal, which is less aggressive + the cancer had not metastized (spread). So, we were given a choice between 2 different treatment plans: (1) A 6-month clinical study treating with 3 drugs - one of which is a nasty nasty thing that would require additional medications to control the side effects as well as inpatient infusion each time because Samuel would have had to be on IV fluids for several days to help his body flush it out; (2) A 1-year traditional course treating with 2 drugs (same as first option minus the nasty nasty one) - outpatient treatments every week for 52 treatment weeks (a couple months over a calendar year when counting weeks with labs only). Obviously, there were serious pro's/con's for BOTH options (no pressure!), and after much discussion + prayer + consultation with Daddy via emails/phone calls, we somewhat reluctantly chose option 1 so that treatment would be completed sooner. BUT, thankfully WE are not the ones in control, and God moved in a big, bold, undeniable way.... The very morning we were to begin chemotherapy, our beloved Dr. Yeager came breathlessly into our hospital room to let me know in a very confused, flustered, even apologetic way that literally MINUTES before he personally handed Samuel's treatment registration over to the proper hands, the 6-month clinical study which had been successfully running for over 2 years CLOSED - but ONLY for one small subset of a subset of a category of rhabdomyosarcomas (into which, of course, Samuel's case "conveniently" fell). When God moves, He moves. I was excited + filled with praise, which added to Dr. Yeager's confusion I'm sure. God had made clear the plan HE wanted for Samuel, and I hadn't felt such peace in weeks! And so, after some final attempts by Dr. Yeager to figure out how it all possibly went "awry" that way, we began Week One of treatment.

The Prognosis. We are exceedingly blessed to know that God's Hand has been all over this from the very beginning. God does NOT sanction, send, or "curse" with cancer (nothing bad is of God); but God is able to take any attempted attack from the enemy + use it for Good. Everything has worked for Samuel's good, down to the slightest of details. The tumor being embryonal was victory #1. The cancer being completely localized, victory #2. The actual location of the tumor being within the scrotal sac is a HUGE victory #3 because the ONLY place on the entire body where a rhabdomyosarcoma has a medical survival/non-recurrence rate of over 97% is IN THE SCROTAL SAC. Samuel's age is victory #4 because diagnosis + treatment of a testicular rhabdo by age 5 increases the survival/non-recurrence rate EXPONENTIALLY. Samuel was 4 1/2 at diagnosis. The victories really are countless... how about even that we "conveniently" live only 15 short minutes away from one of the most reputable pediatric hemotology/oncology facilities in the world?!? We truly thank God every day for all the Good He has already worked, and all the Good we know is still being worked, so that there remains NOTHING but a tremendous life-improving Victory for us all to share in, grow from, and help others by having overcome.