The Game Plan

Today Lila was pretty relaxed and sleepy due to the medicines she is taking. She did have some vomiting this morning which kept everyone busy changing her bed linens. Shout out to nurse Cathy and student nurse Sarah who were both AMAZING!!!

They have determined from the biopsy yesterday that Lila has an extra-renal Wilms' tumor.  I know that you are now all going to Google that, so I will help you out and direct you to a reliable website recommended by our doctor and you can CLICK HERE.  Lila's tumor is special in that it is extra-renal and not coming from her kidneys. This is really rare, but it doesn't change the fact that Wilms' tumors are very treatable, and her cells are favorable to treatment. 

Tonight we met with Lila's doctor who laid out her treatment plan. He is also going to be consulting with his Wilms' tumor buddies to get their opinions, so there may be some slight changes. Even though our oncologist and surgeon are pretty much Wilms' tumor experts and have treated them for decades, neither has seen one outside the kidneys. 

1. Chemo- They will likely start chemo ASAP after port goes in tomorrow. Doctor's guess was about 6 months of treatments. 

2. Surgery- after tumor has shrunk, they will go in and remove it. 

3. Radiation- they will need to do some pelvic radiation. 

Tomorrow morning she will have surgery to put in the portacath. While she is under anathesia, they will do an x-ray of her kidney to see if they need to put in a stint. Due to the mass, her bladder has had trouble emptying and the kidneys have had difficulty draining. We need good kidney function to do chemo, so it's good they can check this now. 

We are so thankful for all your texts, cards, emails, treats, and prayers! It makes a huge difference and is really helping us make it through. 

Every post is better with a photo, and since I don't have any good ones from today I'll share one from a healthier time back in December.