Today is going to be a good day.
Dec 23rd is the day one year ago when Madelyn was declared in REMISSION. I don’t think I’ve ever cried that hard from happiness, ever. It meant that she would be officially labeled Standard Risk and an Early Rapid Responder. In other words, her path through the treatment maze would be easier because she would need less chemotherapy. These two labels have made a huge difference in Madelyn’s experience with cancer.
Chemotherapy is a wonderful thing. It has been saving the lives of people for about 40 years now. Madelyn has received about 8 different kinds over the last year and currently is on a cocktail of 4. All the other medications she takes are simply to treat the side effects of these chemos. Oncologists spend more time combating symptoms of the treatment than anything else.
It is time for a new solution and scientists are out there working on it. They are getting closer to new treatment paths. The regiment of drugs that pediatric leukemia patients take date back to the 1960s (with perfections to the drug symphony happening every year). High Risk patients have a very, very long, hard treatment path and that road continues throughout their life due to the long term effects of these toxic drugs. I look forward to the day when all this changes…
Madelyn is going to spend this momentous day doing nothing momentous. Her biggest challenge today will be how to sneak one more candy in her mouth when Grandma isn’t looking. Madelyn and Sophia will be spending the night at Urs and Harriet’s and making ginger bread houses. Peter and I will have a night to ourselves to rejoice. We have so much to be thankful for this year.
One year down. 14 months of treatment to go…
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