hunterpg3

UPDATES

July 10-13th, 2001:Hunter's first week of radiation. Everything went really well. He needed to receive sedation only the first two days Since then, he has been doing it awake. He cries a little, but doesn't move. I get to talk to him over an intercom system during the treatment. The treatment only lasts a few seconds on the front and then the back of the abdomen. It is the lining up and checking for proper placement and position that takes the longest.

July 12th-16th:Hunter was in the hospital for a 5 day chemotherapy treatment. These stays are usually uneventful unless he develops a fever or any other problems. He receives the chemotherapy drugs every day during this time. After he receives both of the chemo drugs, he receives a drug called Mesna. This drug protects the bladder from damage; which can be caused by one of the chemo drugs. He also received his radiation during this time.

July 16th-20th:Hunter's second week of radiation treatment. Hunter did a great job! He layed still and didn't need to be sedated. He also stopped crying during treatment. We are so proud of him!

July 17th:Hunter started his G-CSF shot to raise his blood counts today. He will get the shot for 10 days.

July 19th:Hunter received one dose of chemotherapy (vincristine) today. He also received a radiation treatment.

July 23:Hunter started his last week of radiation treatments today. He is still doing a great job. When Hunter gets the G-CSF shot, he needs to get his blood tested every few days to see if it is working. When his ANC level reaches 10,000 he gets to stop it. ANC stands for absolute neutrophil count. This level determines the bodys ability to fight infection. Hunter had his counts done today and they were extremely low. Normal White Blood Counts fall between 4 & 12. Hunter's was 0.1. Normal Hemoglobin counts fall between 11.5 & 14.5. Hunter's was 8.8. When receiving radiation they like it to stay above 10.0. Normal platelet counts fall between 160 & 370. Hunter's platelet counts were 17. Hunter needed to receive a blood and platelet transfusion to try to raise his counts. He received one unit of red blood cells and a unit of platelets. This process took most of the day. We ended up being at the hospital for 10 hours.

July 24:Hunter had his blood counts tested after his radiation treatment. If his counts were still low and not improving they would need to give him another transfusion. Luckily his counts did increase, but not by much. White Blood Count went to 0.5; Hemoglobin went to 12.8 and Platelets went to 35. He did not need any because the counts showed an improvement. Hunter still needs to receive the G-CSF shot. His count is only at 40 and it needs to be at least 10,000.

July 26:Hunter had his blood counts tested again today to see how he is doing. His platelet count was very low again. It was only 9. He needed to get another platelet transfusion. The platelet count is refering to the amount of blood cells that form clots, seal up cuts and prevent bleeding. His counts have never been a problem before. The radiation may be having a small effect on them. Hopefully the problem will disappear when he is finished with radiation.

July 28:Hunter had his last radiation treatment today!!! He had a total of 15 treatments.

July 30: Hunter was scheduled to be admitted to the hospital today for a 3 day chemotherapy stay. His counts were too low, so they will try again next monday.

Aug 2:Hunter had an ultrasound on his abdomen today. This was the first one since his tumor surgery. We were not given any information on what was found. There was one area that they looked at closely, but we were not told anything about it yet. Hunter might be admitted Monday for his 3 day chemo stay. Hopefully they will tell us the results then.

Aug 6:Hunter is still waiting to receive his next chemotherapy treatment (3 day stay). He had his blood counts tested today, but they were still too low to safely receive treatment. They will test them again on Thursday. He has not received any chemo since July 24.

Aug 7:The ultrasound Hunter had on Aug.2 turned out to be okay. It showed no growth or new tumor. The area that had caused some concern was closely examined. It is just a deformity. There is a small knob hanging done from the kidney, but it is nothing to worry about. Hunter's kidney is deformed....after all the surgery he has had on it, it can only be expected.

Aug 9-12:Hunter was in the hospital for a 3 day chemo treatment. Everything went pretty good. He did have a small trace of blood in his urine which concerned them for a few hours. This blood can occur from one of the chemo drugs he receives. They increased his fluids and it cleared up. They are not concerned about it because it only occured one time and then disappeared. Hunter was a little grumpier this stay then he has been in the past. They stopped giving him one of the anti-nausea medicines because they think it had mood changing effects on him. He felt much better once they stopped it.

Aug 16:Hunter received another dose of chemotherapy today. It was the last outpatient visit for chemotherapy. For the next 12 weeks he will be reciving chemotherapy only as an inpatient. These will be either 3 day or 5 day hospital stays with chemo treatments every day. They will occur every 3 weeks. Next week he just has a physical and blood tests to make sure his counts are okay. We are now over the hump and on the downward slope of his treatment. It feels good to be half way thru.

Aug 17: Hunter's skin is finally showing the effcts of radiation. The area that was treated is very red, burned and peeling. To help it heal and feel better, we are to keep a lotion on it. It should start to improve in a few weeks.

Aug 23:Hunter had an appointment to be examined and have his blood counts tested. He did not receive any chemo. His ANC and white blood cell counts were very low. To help get them to bounce back up, we have to start giving him the G-CSF shot again. He will have his blood tested on Monday to see if the shots are helping.

Aug 27:Hunter had his blood counts tested today. They were all good. His ANC count had risen to 12,000 so we get to stop his shots for now. He is scheduled to go in for a 5 day chemo stay on Thursday ; if his counts are high enough.

Aug 30: Hunter had good blood tests today, so he was admitted for a 5 day stay. During this time he will receive a combination of 2 chemo drugs everyday for 5 days.

Sept 4:Hunter had a bit of an upset stomach today. He is taking a nausea medicine to help him feel better. He started his G-CSF shots today.

Sept 8: Hunter has been feeling really good. He has been eating a lot of cookie crisp cereal. He just loves the stuff! Monday he goes back to the hospital for a blood count test. We are still giving him his daily G-CSF shot.

Sept 10: We went to Madison today to have Hunter's blood tested. His blood counts were still low even though he has been feeling good. We have to continue giving him his shot for a few more days. He gets tested again on Thursday.

Sept 13: Hunter had his blood counts taken again today. They were at a good enough number to stop his shots. He has been feeling really good. Eating ham sandwiches and drinking a lot of milk. He is scheduled for his next chemo stay on the 20th.

Sept 20:Hunter is going in for a 3 day chemo stay today. He is taking videos, puzzles, crayons and coloring books, and of course, a few trucks to keep him busy.

Sept 23: Hunter's stay went well. He received his medication on time each day. He also got to go to the toddler playroom for a while. He loves to bowl and play with the trucks. Today we started his G-CSF shots to raise his counts. He is scheduled to have his blood counts tested every monday & thursday beginning on the 27th. His next admittance for chemotherapy will be on October 11th. He has only two more to go.

Sept 27:Hunter had his blood counts tested again today. They were still low, so we have to continue giving him the shots. Hunter's cancer benefit is this saturday. We are hoping he is feeling good and in a good mood that day.

Sept 29: Hunter's benefit was today. It was amazing to see how many people came out to help him and our family. There were old friends, new friends, family, other people who have been touched by cancer, and members of the local community. We will never be able to thank everyone for being there for us, and caring enough to share your time and especially your money with us. It is overwhelming to see how big peoples hearts are, for such a sweet child. Thanks for everything!

Oct 4:Hunter had his counts tested again today. They were high enough to stop the G-CSF shots. His next scheduled chemo stay will be a 5 day stay beginning on Oct. 11th.

Oct 14:Hunter is currently receiving his chemotherapy treatment in the hospital. He should be able to come home Monday. He has been feeling pretty good. He now weights about 36 pounds. He had an ultrasound done on Friday. There are no signs of any tumors. The kidney is somewhat dialated with water. They are not sure what is causing this...they believe it is from all of the fluids he gets during his treatment. Because they are not sure what it is from, they are going to do another ultrasound in the next week or so. They want him to be out of the hospital and reciving no extra fluids.

Oct 18:Hunter is receiving his G-CSF shots once again to help raise his blood counts. His last chemo stay went really well. He only has one more stay to go. He will next receive treatment beginning Nov.1st, this will be a 3 day stay. On Monday the 22nd, Hunter has another ultrasound scheduled. This will tell us how the kidney looks compared to the one he had done last week.

Oct 22:Hunter had another ultrasound done today. Everything looks good. The kidney has returned to a normal size. His blood counts are still low, so he is still receiving the G-CSF shot.

Oct 29:Hunter had blood tests done again today. He got to stop his shots a few days ago. His counts are a little low. He is going trick-or-treating on Halloween. He is dressing up as Buzz Lightyear. Logan is dressing up as Woody. I will add a few pictures of them when I get them developed. His next and last chemo treatment begins November 2nd. It is a 3 day stay.

Nov 6: Hunter is done with his chemo treatments!!!! He was released form the hospital yesterday. He spiked a small fever during the hospital stay, so they have him on antibiotics for 10 days. His port is still accessed, so we are giving him the antibiotic injection at home. He receives 1 cc every minute for an 8-10 minute time frame. This is given every 8 hours. He has 22 more doses to go. Hunter also will begin getting his G-CSF shot today. As far as his follow up schedule this is all we know so far: he will have a complete set of scans in 3 weeks. If everything is clear, they will schedule the surgery to remove his port-a-cath. I will be adding a few pictures of the boys in their Halloween costumes later today.

Nov 16: Hunter is done with his antibiotics. Today we took Hunter to see his first movie at a movie theater. We saw Monsters Inc., and he loved it. Hunter goes to the hospital on the 21st for his CT Scan and ultrasound.

Nov 21:Hunter had an ultrasound and a CT Scan done today. His next clinic appointment is on the 29th. So, we will not receive any results until then. In the meantime, Hunter is going to have Thanksgiving with his family this year. First at Aunt Sharis's house and then off to Aunt Mary's. Last year he was unable to attend any holiday festivities, so he is looking forward to it this year.

Nov 24:Hunter had a great time at both Thanksgiving dinners. He got to see his cousins and play with them. He didn't eat a lot, but he never really eats too much. Thursday is his next clinic visit. They should have the results of his scans then.

Nov 29:Hunter had his clinic appointment today. We did not receive a final word on the CT Scan because they didn't know what to tell us. Hunter had part of his liver removed during his last surgery. A lymph node attached to his liver is enlarged. It was too hard to tell from the CT Scan if this was caused from the surgery (he is still healing) or if it is new tumor growth. They feel it is just an enlargement from the surgery, but want to be sure before they remove his port-a-cath. They are going to do a new CT Scan of his chest and abdomin on December 7th. They are going to do more advanced cuts and disections, so they can get a closer look at what they see. We won't know more until this happens. We are keeping our fingers crossed and saying many prayers that it is not more cancer.

Dec 4:Hunter has been feeling good. We are anxiously waiting for Friday to get here. We are hoping we get the results of his CT Scan later that day. It will be a very long weekend if we don't hear anything.

Dec 9: We still are waiting for the final results on Hunter's scans. They may have to do a few more tests to get a closer look at a few spots. We should have results sometime Tuesday.

Dec 11:Hunter's scans are still too hard for them to read acurately. They want to be sure to examine them closely and not to miss anything. He relapsed so soon last time, they don't want to take any chances. The radiologist , who has been viewing Hunter's scans since he was diagnosed, finally had a chance to look at them today. He feels everything is okay, but still wants to take a closer look. Hunter still has some swelling in his lymph node, but it is smaller than the last scan. Nothing has grown, or changed. His chest and pelvis are clear. There is a spot on the right abdomen, below his colon, where there is something. It is below the area where they performed surgery. They feel it is just scar tissue, but are not sure. There is also a spot on his remaining partial kidney that looks to be scar tissue, again they are not sure. Hunter's kidney has so many irregularities after surgery. It was so cut up that now it is deformed and still healing. Hunter will have another CT done on January 3,2002. During this CT scan, he will be asked to drink a larger amount of contrast than he usually does. This will help increase the quality and details of his abdomen. Hopefully then they will get a closer look at the two spots in question and decide if it is just scar tissue or something else. So, the wait to see "how" Hunter is, will have to wait a few more weeks. Keep saying prayers for him and sending good thoughts his way.

Dec 13: Hunter's CT Scan has been moved to January 10th.

Dec 18:Hunter is currently fighting a cold. He is still feeling good and is very excited about Christmas. Hunter will be leaving soon to go on his Make-A-Wish trip to Disneyworld in Orlando Florida. He is pretty happy about finally getting to do something fun.

Dec 29:We just returned from Hunter's Make-A-Wish trip to Disneyworld. He had a good time. I will be adding a page to his website in a few days with details of his trip and some pictures. Make sure you check back later this week.

Jan 6:Hunter has been playing with all of his new Christmas toys. His hair has started to grow back. He has peach fuzz on the top of his head. He has been eating pretty good also. His next appointment will be the CT Scan on January 10.

Jan 9: Hunter woke up in the middle of the night with a very high fever. He was admitted to the University of Wisconsin Children's Hospital to be treated. This was a bummer because it was his birthday. He has strep pneumonia and is being treated with antibiotics.

Jan 10:Hunter had his Ct Scan done while he was in the hospital. His scans came back clear. There are no signs of cancer. He is going to be checked again in 2 months. He is scheduled to have his port-a-cath removed next Friday. He will continue on antibiotics until then.

Jan 11:Hunter got to go home today. He will continue to receive the antibiotics thru his port at home.

Jan 15:Hunter has been feeling pretty good. He is still gettting the antibiotics. His hair is getting longer each day.

Jan 20: Hunter finished his antibiotics on Friday. On Friday morning he also had out-patient surgery to remove the port-a-cath in his chest. He is now free of any foreign objects in his body. The area will take a few weeks to heal properly. He is having fun at home playing with his toys and his brother. He sees his Oncologist at a clinic appointment Thursday. His next set of tests will be in 2 months.