Six years post treatment

Six years after the end of chemo and I’m happy to report that all is well. These scrapes and bumps are just from being a radical kid. Healthy and smart as ever. ❤️ 

No news is good news!

Still healthy and growing like a weed!

Rolling into Kindergarten like ...

Looking good. Feeling good. Three years ago yesterday is when she officially finished chemo. We're fortunate and blessed to be where we are now.

4 Years Old

Lila rolled over the 4-year mark last month.

Her 12-month scans showed no evidence of disease, which is the best possible result. She's growing quickly. She's funny, smart, excitable, and more than a little wild. She's also gentle, sweet, thoughtful, and highly analytical. She coins a new word every day.

Skye is her spirit animal.

Lila's favorite person by far is her big sis Callie. They play together for hours: School, baking, Play-Doh, bubbles, water table, Octonauts, Paw Patrol, Minecraft, wilding out with GoNoodle, LEGO, and lots of princess time.

This morning Callie is teaching her pupil how to add and subtract. Quote from the den: "Momma, Lila is so so smart!!"

Also they fight and scream and other sister stuff. Not too much.

Cancer changed our little family but we're not rushing to process it and move on. It's a long recovery and you never really move on anyway. I don't think you're supposed to. But there is a point in the recovery process when you just want to be normal for a bit. That's where we're at.

We'll keep the sporadic updates coming if we can all agree that "No news is good news." Subscribe to receive updates by email. Love from the Duncans!

Callie's face!

Better Days

The recent lack of updates means 2016 has been busy and good. Hair's growing back! More updates to come ... just wanted to let y'all know that we're still kickin'.

Doing Well

It's been awhile since we've updated the blog, so I thought I would share that all is well! Lila had a scan the week before Thanksgiving that was all clear! Next one will be in February.

We have been enjoying getting back into a "normal" routine with work and school. Lila started back to school on Tuesdays/Thursdays and she loves it! She has a wonderful teacher and lots of sweet little friends.

First Day of School Picture

Then she had her port removed! Not many surgeries are this happy. 

We also participated in the St. Jude Walk/Run to End Childhood cancer in Nashville in September. We were so thankful for all our friends and family who joined us! It was a fantastic morning. 

We are so grateful to be where we are now, but our thoughts are with friends who are still battling this beast.  We are also mindful of the chance of relapse but try to not be too weighed down by it. We are definitely thankful for every day.  

Good News!!

Dear friends, we're trying to tell everyone personally but if you haven't heard yet ... We got a great report from Lila's big scan on Thursday. Her cancer seems to be GONE and her heart echo showed no damage from the chemo. We should be scheduling her port-removal surgery very soon.

We are officially entering Surveillance mode! We will continue to do scans every 3 months for the first year, then step down the frequency as long as the results are good. And if the same tumor comes back, we are heartened to know that it has already responded so well to chemo and that Lila was able to tolerate the treatment. Also they're developing new treatments all the time.

She will likely need to remain on antibiotics for 6-12 months while her system recovers. She can get a flu shot but must wait to receive her regular vaccinations. We are relying on herd immunity to protect her from diseases like measles, smallpox, and whooping cough. (Please vaccinate your children.)

I didn't realize that good news can put you into shock as much as bad news can. On Thursday, Sarah and I just felt exhausted ("like a limp noodle," she said). But we are beginning to accept this good news and actually feel good about it. I guess the recovery is as much a process as the treatment was.

Right now I'm happy that Lila can just be a kid for awhile. No more needles or tubes.

We're very grateful for your many calls, texts, prayers, letters, meals, and positive thoughts this year. There are so many people to thank. (Does this sound like an Oscars speech?) This is not something you can survive alone, and our extended community has really rallied around Lila and us. Someday we'll try to put better words around our feelings of gratitude.

For now ... JOIN OUR TEAM!

The Duncan Friends team is raising money for St. Jude in Memphis (where Lila's surgeon worked for years). The walk happens September 26 in Nashville. You don't have to actually walk it, but we're gonna have fun with it. For us, it's both a chance to give back and a celebration.

Would love to have you join us! Let us know if you have trouble signing up under our team and we'll add you manually.