Cancer Sucks/ We Luv Chris

Hello all, this is Chris. I'm doing well, aside from a cold that won't go away and possible ear infection. Cancer wise though I have no pain and no changes I've noticed so we're happy about that, hoping it's a good sign for the next PETscan. The reason I'm writing however is not for an update on me, but rather for Veronica. We went to the ER today around noon because she was having stomach pains for the last week or so. After some tests and a CT, we found out she had appendicitis! It was weird being in such a familiar setting as the hospital but not in the bed... She just had surgery and everything went well. I spoke with the surgeon and she said the appendix was very swollen but removed just fine and thankfully not burst yet. Right now she's resting and we're working on pain management but she should be able to go home tomorrow with minimal restrictions. Just thought we'd let everyone know... This year can't end soon enough! Love to all, Chris

TUESDAY, NOVEMEBER 12th, 2019 Well, we have good news! Chris had his PET scan yesterday morning.  We met with Dr. Shah this morning to get the results and overall, we had fantastic news: Chris's PET scan was almost completely clean! He only had a small area of activity in two lymph nodes.  Dr. Shah called CAR-T a success.  It is the first treatment that Chris has had that has put him so close to remission.  Unfortunately, the fact that it was not completely clean puts us (and Dr. Shah) in a bit of a predicament.  Dr. Shah explained that two things could happen from here: 1: The CAR-T cells could still be working and the remaining lymph nodes could convert, putting Chris into full and complete remission. 2: The activity in the lymph nodes could progress.  If the remaining cancer is left to progress too much, getting Chris back to near remission could be extremely difficult. There is no way to predict what will happen. As a result, Dr. Shah is making preparations for a bo

THHURSDAY, NOVEMBER 7th, 2019 Chris has been doing really well, overall, since being home.  He is working on getting his strength back by walking and doing the stairs several times during the day.  He has also been helping more with Stellan (who is quite a bit to handle these days). Chris has still had some difficulties adjusting to being home, which is to be expected after being in the hospital for so long; one of those difficulties has been trying to taper his pain meds safely and effectively so he has minimal side effects from withdrawals now that he no longer needs the meds. This process has gone pretty well, overall, but he has still been experiencing some minor side effects.  Aside from that, Chris is pain free! He will have a PET scan to determine if he is in remission or not next Monday 11/11.  It sounds like a bone marrow transplant might be on the table eventually, even if he is in remission, but we will cross that bridge after getting the PET results. Please keep the