Relapse..Bring It! (by Lainey)

Hi all,

Here we are again!  Chrissy and I met with his chemo oncologist yesterday at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Basking Ridge, NJ.  We learned A LOT.  The facility is top notch and in a beautiful building that backs up to nice views of the woods (lots of deer for Chrissy to scope out come hunting season). The team taking care of Chrissy is amazing and leaders in their field. Here are some basics:

MEDICAL TEAM-

Joel Sheinfeld, MD - NYC - Testicular cancer chief specialist and surgeon who performed Chris' orchiectomy and has been monitoring his monthly progress. The best, the end.

George Bosl, MD - NYC - Chairman in clinical oncology and will be monitoring chemo treatment plan from NYC. Very nice guy!

Han Xiao, MD - NJ - Chief in medical oncology and will be managing Chris' care and treatment in NJ. She is the doctor that we met today and we really like her.  She knows her stuff!

STATS-

Chris is considered to have relapsed stage IIC seminoma testicular cancer. I encourage you all to do reading and research on his diagnosis. There is a lot of good info about it on the Internet. It's considered highly treatable, with a cure rate of over 90%. 

Since the surgery, Dr. Sheinfeld has been monitoring small spots (tumors) on lymph nodes near his kidneys in the abdomen. They were stable and not growing for several months. In February, Chris' tumor markers in his blood levels began to rise and the tumors visibly began to grow, as seen on his March 28th CT scan. Some of those tumors are over 2cm in size.  Since this means progression of the disease, chemotherapy is needed to kill those tumors and any others that may be floating around undetected.

Chemo is going to start next Monday, April 8th and will be completed by the last week in June.

He will be receiving two types of chemotherapy drugs, Cisplatin and Etoposide, which is the standard combination with his diagnosis. He will receive 4 cycles of treatment. One cycle = 5 days of 4hr treatments, followed by 2 weeks off. During the 4hrs, he will receive the chemo drugs, anti-nausea medications and fluids. It is imperative that Chris stay hydrated over the course of his treatment. Dehydration can compromise his kidneys and result in ER hospital visits. He will need to drink at least 80 oz of fluids each day.  

He will also be getting regular injections to boost his white blood cell count.  Keeping Chris infection-free and hydrated will be a top priority. No one can be around Chris if they are feeling sick or feeling like they are about to become sick. His immune system will be extremely delicate so we must make every precaution to keep him healthy and strong. Fever+germs+dehydration=BAD. 

Dr. X says he can exercise as long as he's feeling good. He will likely start to feel lousy towards the end of chemo week and will start to feel better mid-week of rest week 1. It may take longer for him to feel well the further we get into treatment. He will likely need to shave his head due to hair loss around week 3.  Everyone handles it differently, so we just have to see how things go.

Dr. X says she has many patients like Chris who have gone on to live happy and normal lives after completing treatment. She has a wall full of baby photos who were born to former patients. She has reassured us that everything will be ok!!

Chris is feeling strong and ready to fight. We are both looking forward to visiting San Diego this weekend for my friend Lily's wedding! Chris hasn't been back there since we moved, so it will be a great vacation before we embark on this next challenge.

Thank you all so much for your love, support and help. Keep those prayers and good thoughts coming!  I'll do my best to keep everyone updated!

Xo

Lainey