This is going to be a big one. I’ll try to start with the highlights and put the details for the medical nerds later.
Lydia is nearing the end of “delayed intensification.” She has her last chemo treatment of this stage tomorrow. This has by far been the hardest stage for everyone, especially Lydia. At her appointment tomorrow, she will have been to the hospital 8 of the past 11 days. In addition, she is on intense oral chemo at home. It is so potent that we have to wear gloves when preparing it and make sure not to let it touch anything or even breath in its dust. Thankfully, tomorrow is the last of the back-to-back hospital visits.
The next stage in her treatment (Interim maintenance) starts May 2nd with a lumbar puncture. This stage is a step down in intensity, and should last about a month. After that, assuming everything continues on the current trajectory, she will be in long term maintenance until the end of 2025.
She continues to respond well to the treatments. By all measures, her side effects and E.R. trips have been as minimal as can reasonably be expected. God is good. Thank you for hour continued prayers.
For those of you following the genetic stuff:
A preliminary consultation with the geneticist revealed a slight miscommunication. The Mayo clinic had given the doctors the idea that they had observed a TP53 gene mutation in Lydia’s blood work. This is not accurate.
What they had seen was a chromosomal abnormality that is commonly associated with a TP53 mutation. Testing needs to be done to see if she does have that mutation, but the doctors are cautiously optimistic that she doesn’t. Some of the reasons are that it does not typically cause leukemia, and it is most often associated with tumorous cancers.
Thank you again for all the prayers, support, assistance, love and kindness.
