Hunter LiveStrong: Thursday..April 29th..

THE BEGINNING

January of 2007 we found a small lump on Hunters back located just under the skin, between the shoulder blades. The doctor told us it was a fatty tumor or sebaceous cyst, and it would get bigger, then smaller and go away. If it grew, or bothered him we could have it removed. June 27th it was removed in surgery and on July 3 we were back for a check up of the area and were told he had, cancer, Ewing's Sarcoma PNET (of the soft tissue surrounding the bone). A year of Chemo was started, which consisted being in the hospital every 21 days for 6 or 3 days at a time. He underwent a second surgery in October 2007 to clear the margins. On May 27th of 2008 he finished chemo and was "Cancer Free".

He was scanned and examined on regular intervals and his last clear scans were on August 19th 2009. October 28th 2009 we noticed a lump in the original tumor location. After a biopsy on October 29th, we were told the next day that the cancer has returned. The central line was put back in his chest on November 2nd and a series of tests have begun to determine the extent of the disease. Please view "posting" dated November 7, 2009 for treatment plan...

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Thursday..April 29th..

Today was another day filled with some ups and downs, as they all seem to have lately. Although this one seemed to have a few more ups than downs, which is a great thing. Hunter went the second night in a row without having the chills, so it looks like the pre-med of steroids are working. His counts also went up this morning which was a "wonderful" thing. His WBC (white blood counts) went to .200 and better yet his ANC went from 0 to 100 and his Mono Cites went to 36% which is a really great sign that the Stem Cells are starting to work! YEAH!! I know that a lot of these probably don't make sense to a lot of you but it's all great signs that the Stem Cells are starting to work and his counts are coming up. Hunter was in a lot of pain today though, his bones were hurting him, especially in his lower backs. His back was absolutely killing him to the point where he couldn't move. They gave him some Tylenol and Morphine through-out the day to help with the pain. It really seemed to help him and the doctor said that this can happen for a day or two due to the fact that it is probably the Stem Cells taking hold to the bone marrow. So in a way this is a good thing but unfortunately it has to cause Hunter so much pain. Hunters mouth and throat soars seem to be getting better and causing him less pain. Today for the first time in almost a week Hunter actually ate a little bit of "real" food. He didn't eat a ton but a little at a time is better than nothing. Hunter is taking a lot of small steps to the road to recovery.

Thank You Everyone For Your Continued LOVE, SUPPORT and PRAYERS...
The Herrick Family