Fri, 01 Oct 1999 14:09

No adverse effects from radiation

Hello. Another weekly update. Logan has only 4 more radiation treatments left :) He continues to have NO obvious ADVERSE EFFECTS from the treatment. We thank God for answering our/your specific prayers for minimal side effects. His doctor said today that she didn't expect to see and has never seen this before. Please continue to pray for this as Logan continues on with his chemotherapy treatments and Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT). Thanks!

Logan will need a total spine and brain (with contrast) MRI this upcoming week or the following week. Please pray that the tumor is not growing back and that the doctors will be able to read the images correctly (i.e. no false positives due to enhancement from radiation).

Assuming the tumor has not come back, Logan will be going into DUKE (shortly after radiation is over) for 3 days for his inpatient 'conditioning chemotherapy' - chemo given so his bone marrow will overproduce. He will be going back into the hospital several (7?) days later, possibly over several visits for several stem cell collections and a bone marrow harvest. This period of time after harvest is expected to be a little more difficult than the radiation has been as he will need to be isolated again and will need to take a bone marrow growth hormone on a daily basis to keep his bone marrow counts over 0 (I will have to learn to give him this shot :( ).

Then, as you already know, some time in December he will go inpatient in the bone marrow transplant unit at Duke for about 4-6 weeks for his BMT. I wish we had more details - it is not for lack of asking questions either. For me, the waiting part is the hardest.

Thank you all!

Laura, Knocker, Logan and Adam