Dominic Update 5.0
October 2, 2022
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Happy October, friends!
I hope you have all had a wonderful start to fall and are enjoying the cooler temperatures and beautiful fall days.
I'm popping in today with a new Dominic update. Thank you all so much for your emails, the cards and gifts that you've sent, and all of the prayers you've offered up; our family appreciates it all so very much ❤️
The Latest Treatments and Scans
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After Labor Day, Dominic had his second round of immunotherapy treatment, followed up by a new set of scans and a bone marrow biopsy in mid-September.
We got very encouraging news... the scan showed that 50% of the cancer has cleared, which is the biggest move of the needle that we've seen so far.
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The full-body radioactive scan done for neuroblastoma is called an MIBG scan and it is given a "Curie score" - 10 segments of the body are scored 0 to 3, based on how much cancer is present, which means the highest score it can show is 30. In May, Dominic's score was 27; after surgery and prior to beginning immunotherapy, his score was 26. After the second round of immunotherapy, this most recent scan showed a score of 13.
His bone marrow biopsy showed what the doctor called "just a trace" of neuroblastoma cells, a reduction from the previous 5 to 10%.
We pray that the immunotherapy treatments continue to be this effective and that he will soon be completely cleared of the cancer that remains.
Next Up...
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Dominic will have his third round of immunotherapy the week after next, and then the fourth round about a month after that, followed by another set of scans.
Immunotherapy, unlike chemotherapy, does not cause white counts, platelets, or hemoglobin to drop, so we don't have to worry about twice-weekly lab work or transfusions. We just need to go into clinic once a week to have his central line dressing changed.
In the Meantime...
Dominic started kindergarten last week! It has made my heart so happy to see him enjoying normal 5-year-old life, showing us the papers he's worked on, and talking about the little things that have happened during the day.
After spending the last six months going back and forth from hospitals, inpatient stays for chemotherapy, surgery, endless clinic visits, transfusions, radiation, and everything in between, having some normalcy in everyday life has been such a blessing for him.
AND he turns 6 this week! 🎉
Coming Up...
You may have seen a couple of new emails from me this last week! Thank you so much for the awesome feedback!
I'm slowly starting to get back into the swing of things and with a slightly more predictable schedule at home, I'm hoping to bring back Friday Things and send you delicious recipes on a semi-regular basis again. Stay tuned 😋
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