Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Tuesday's Meeting with Dr. Granger

 Yesterday Blake and I went to Cooks to see Dr. Granger at 9:45. She gave us the last results we were waiting on---the bone marrow biopsy. She told us that it had not spread to her bone marrow and we were in the clear. Blake and I felt a total sigh of relief- man the power of prayer is amazing!!! She reviewed with us that the tumor was just isolated in her right adrenal kidney gland and that it was the same size as it was when they first found it on the sonogram.
      Dr. Granger went over their plan that they felt was in line with her prognoses. She said that she could follow the clinical trial which is like a "watch and wait" plan. We were handed a schedule of what would happen in the next several months for Miss Reagan to conquer neuroblastoma, that is if Blake and I plan on going this route. Reagan will go on March 3rd at 7:30 for her first sonogram since we first discovered the cancer. The radiologist will look at the sonogram and determine if the tumor has grown, stayed the same, or has reduced in size. Dr. Granger  told us that neuroblastoma is like a mountain- they don't know if when they found it, if the tumor is at it's greatest size or if it's at it's lowest point and is going to continue to grow. She said that a lot of times when they discover this it might grow slightly more but then start decreasing in size and will eventually disintegrate. After that sonogram, Reagan will then go in six weeks from then to do another MRI, which means she will have to receiveanesthesia again. So basically she will continue sonograms and MRI's until the tumor is no longer seen or if surgery is needed.  According to the trial they believe that it is sufficient to do surgery if the tumor doubles in size from when they originally found it. She did say that Blake and I at any point throughout the trial could do the surgery. Blake and I can say that we feel a lot more comfortable now with this than we did at the very beginning because of our faith in the Lord. We did love at the end of our discussion with Dr. Granger that she led us in a prayer for Reagan and for us to help us make the right decision. It feels so good to have a doctor working with our precious angel to have the same beliefs as us.
    Today we also received the feedback from St. Jude. They are on the same page as Cook's, which is to do the clinical trial. We feel a lot better about the clinical trial now that our second opinion is right in line with Cook's.        
   After all of this information, Blake and I definitely have a tough decision to make because Dr. Granger said we could do either option- "watch and wait" or do surgery. It is very hard for us to fathom how to leave a cancerous tumor inside our baby girl. We are continuing to pray about it and look to GOD for our answer. We believe that the clinical trial will be very stressful and hard on us, but we have to think about what is best for Reagan, not us. The surgery is very straight to the point and she will not have to go through the long process of the trial, but she would have to face major surgery. So definitely prayer and determining what is best for her, is what will help us with our decision. We want to thank everyone again that has reached out to us and has prayed for us and Reagan. As everyone can see- Prayer is an amazing tool and is the best gift anyone could receive!! We are blessed to have received the results we did and to know that our angel bug will conquer her cancer. This is just a little bump in the road for her. We will keep you updated as to which route Blake and I choose to take.

3 comments:

  1. I am so happy to hear that Reagan is going to be ok and Prayer is very powerful!!! I will continue to follow Reagan's progress and I will keep you all in my prayers. God Bless!

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  2. So happy to hear that it has not spread to the bone marrow and encouraged that though it may be hard to watch and wait, it may be that she doesn't need surgery. Having a newborn who underwent two major surgeries, I know that brings complications in itself. Even just last year, just before turning 12, had to have reconstructive surgery on her abdominal scars from those early surgeries.

    Will continue to pray for Reagan, that this tumor goes away and she doesn't need surgery. What a blessing to have a dr. that will pray with you as well!

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  3. Found your blog thru Suzanne, a friend of your mom's. My family and I will keep you in our prayers!!

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