Remission

[ri-mish-uhn]
-the state of absence of disease activity in patients with a chronic illness, with the possibility of return of disease activity

         We're are officially in remission. I couldn't be more thrilled, or scared for that matter.  I'm thrilled that Brinley is following protocol, she has stayed on a steady path, and so far so good. We have now started our consolidation phase, which lasts a minimum of 6 1/2 months.  Today Brinley had her 3 doses of chemo, and tonight she will start her oral chemotherapy at home. 

        She will be taking the oral chemo for 29 days, every night before bed, and then on Thursdays, she will have her lumbar puncture and the spinal chemo, she just knows it as 'surgery'.

       Then after the 29 days are up, she will start on a 57 stint of vincristine, and methotrexate every 10 days, in this phase her methotrexate will start at 100mg, and go up by 50 every dose.  She also will only have one spinal chemo done.

     Then we start a 29 day therapy of thioguanine, cytarabine, vincristine, doxorubicin, PEG-asparaginase (one shot) and she will have small doses of dexamethasone a few days at a time.

     After ALL of this...she will hopefully be into the maintenance phase of her disease, and that means chemo once a month.

     It seems confusing, and hard to grasp sometimes, I'm grateful to the amazing staff at the stollery, they are able to take the time and explain to the tiniest detail.  They can't tell me how she will be, or react because every child is different, but they can prepare me for what could happen. 

      I am also proud to report that everyday Brinley is more and more like herself.  She's almost back to her happy go lucky bouncy self. Right in time for Christmas too! I just hope with tonight and tomorrow's dose of chemo she won't be sick. Her need to eat and sleep is tapering off too which is nice to see.  Yesterday was the first day she actually played with her toys since OCTOBER!

     Today while at the hospital the Kids With Cancer Society gave her a rolling suitcase FULL of loot.  She got my little pony toys, coloring books, crayons, as well as two huge over night kids full of things that a parent and child may need for an extended stay.  And not those little silly travel sized bottles of shampoo, the regular sized ones.  I was shocked!