Theraputic break from reality...

William and I have been in southern California with Grandpa for 48 hours and already we feel like different people. It is amazing how some sleep, a relaxed schedule and a lot of sunshine can change your entire outlook on life. 

Yesterday we spent the morning hours on the beach where William was fascinated by seagulls, seashells, and sea enenemies. William's laughter and bright smile made me realize that he needed this break from reality as much as we did.  Yesterday afternoon Granpa, William and I spent several hours at City of Hope Hospital where we met with Dr. Clarke Anderson. The meeting with Dr. Anderson was very encouraging and  extremely informative. The following are some of the main items that we discussed:

-1. City of Hope is willing to do whole liver radiation;Whole liver radiation is extremely rare and practically unheard off, but due to the miracle of some new technology that happens to be at City of Hope, Helical Tomotherapy is a valid option for destroying all the cancer is William's liver.

-2. City of Hope believes that a stem cell rescue and bone marrow transplant is William's best resource in beating this monster. Due to the reality that William has undergone 11 rounds of chemo, there is no guarantee that we would be successfull in getting enough stem cells BUT, at least they are willing to try YIPEE!!!!

-3. Ph. Balance diet has done a lot for William's body. Dr. Anderson mentioned that William's bladder recovered as well as it did because of the specialized diet.

-4. Natural supplements that we are using are probably doing more harm than good. The natural remedies that William is taking works by placing the cancerous cells in a "sleeping" or "hibernation" state. Chemotherapy is only effective against active cells and won't do anything to destroy the cells are not.

-5. The current chemo that William is on should be changed immediately. Dr. Anderson recommends VP16 and Ifosphomide as both of these drugs are aggressive in killing cancer cells and the combination is a good recipe for preparing his kidneys and bladder for stem cell harvest.

-6. City of Hope has extensive experience with DSRCT
-7.  I like Dr. Anderson and William seems comfortable with him.
-8. Patients have private rooms with beds for parents and a refrigerator.
-9. Monthly housing is available on campus at a low rate.
-10. City of Hope will be willing to transfer us in as soon as mid February.

 ------Most importantly, Dr. Anderson reminded us how amazing William's progress has been. William's tumor cell death and shrinkage is amazing and I believe that it is due to William having such good response that Dr. Anderson is so eager to help us-------You go William, I am so incredibly proud of you!!!

Tomorrow the tree of us will travel to downtown LA where we will be meeting with Dr. Marcio Malogolowkin, an internationally known oncologist that specialized in rare pediatric liver tumors. We were told by Dr. Anderson that Dr. Malogolowin provided him with 1/2 of this knowledge on Sarcoma cancers and that he is one of the best he has ever met....  I am eager to hear what Dr. Malogolowkin would suggest and recommend...

Today was our only day that was free of appointments. We spent the wonderfully warm and sunny exploring the Santa Monica pier, chasing seagulls on the beach and people watching at Venice Beach (YIKES). Venice Beach is an interesting location, that's all I am going to say about that....

Anyway, thank you for checking in on us!

Keep on keeping on. Live Strong in God's promise of healing!