Harvest Day

Just a short update to let everyone know that the harvest went well today.  The count was 1.58 million stem cells per kilogram collected today and the doctor is happy with that.  However the doctor has decided to do one more day of harvest just to get as many stem cells as possible.  Tomorrow they will do one more harvest.  

The Lord willing Marty will be able to go home this weekend.  He has been fever free this week and for that we are very thankful.  We are not sure exactly when the chemotherapy will happen but we will keep you posted.  

Thanks again for all your support, words of encouragement and most importantly your prayers.

Psalm 31:24

Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

Preparation for Stem Cell Transplant

Here is just a short little update on what has been happening for Marty in preparation for the Autologous Peripheral Stem Cell Transplant.  Last week Monday Marty had a pheresis catheter inserted into his clavicle (shoulder/neck) area.  This was just a short procedure but has caused Marty some neck pain which is to be expected.  This catheter will be used to give drugs and fluid to him during the stem cell transplant.  
This past Friday, Marty did go home with the expectation that he'd be at home for the weekend.  However on Saturday, he was having problems with his balance and then started running a fever, so Erica did end up taking him back to the hospital early Saturday afternoon.  The doctors have given Marty antibiotics and by Sunday evening he was starting to look a lot better already.  
Sunday Marty received his first neupogen (growth factor) injection to increase the production of stem cells so there are enough stem cells to be collected on harvest day.   As it stands right now we are gearing up for Thursday, January 31st to be Harvest Day.  Marty will have to go to Oncology Day Ward from 7am until 7pm while his blood will be cycled through a pheresis machine.  By way of this machine his stem cells will be collected and then the remaining cells will be returned to his bloodstream.  By Thursday evening we should know if they were able to collect enough stem cells.  Optimum amount of stem cells is 2 million per kilogram of body weight.  
We will continue to keep you updated on what will be happening with Marty's care.  Thank you again for your continuous support and prayers.  

January 2013

Marty has completed his 6th and final round of chemo, and a follow up MRI has been done.  The MRI report for the most part remains unchanged after the completion of the 5th and 6th round of chemo.  The MRI does not show disease progression, which is a good thing; Dr. Fraser would describe Marty's response as a partial response to the 6 rounds of chemo he was given. 

On Thursday a support team briefed us on their 3 options as further treatment for the cancer which still remains in the brain.   Marty and Erica have decided to go ahead with the third option which is Autologous Stem Cell Transplant.  This is basically a procedure where blood cells are harvested, and then a round of  two different high dose chemotherapy is administered, with the hope that this will kill the remaining cancer cells and then the stem cells are transplanted back into Marty's body.   This stem cell transplant could take 3 to 6 months to recover from.  At the meeting we were again made aware of how rare a form of cancer Marty is battling with.  Doctors at the Juravinski Cancer Centre,  Princess Margaret (in Toronto) or in Canada, have not treated any other patient with Marty's cancer in this way.  The team is in contact with doctors in France and are currently basing their treatment plan on a research study based out of that country. This treatment plan is not without it's own risks and/or side effects. 

In the next couple of days Marty will have major blood work done, as well as other procedures in order to ready him for the harvest, ie. catheter insertion, injections of growth factors in order to increase his stem cells. The harvest is tentatively planned for the end of January and into the beginning of February, barring any  complications; we hope to keep you posted via the blog as we go along.   

We continue to covet your prayers at this time and pray that God will continue to sustain Marty and Erica and their family, knowing and being comforted by the fact that not a hair can fall from our heads without the Father's will, Lord's Day 1.    

 Jeremiah 29:11

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. "