Being admitted in the morning

I have not written a blog update in awhile. Things have been going well for Abby. She is back in school, she was feeling well, her hair is growing back and generally happy. Soon after school began, Abby had been complaining of headaches. She went home from school early a few days. It was thought that she was having headaches from adjusting to her new glasses. Within, the last week and a half Abby has been extremely tired. She has come home from school early and missed a few days of school to come home and sleep. She has taken 2-3 hour naps sometimes 2 times a day. She went to see her Pediatrician yesterday. Labs showed that she is not anemic and felt that she must be fighting a virus. Well, parental instincts felt like it could be something else. Cori and Craig were feeling anxious and worried, so Cori emailed the Neuro Oncologist today and he got back to her right away. He thought it may be a delayed response (reaction) to radiation. It is common to have these side effects months after treatment is over.

Abby is being admitted to Children's Hospital in the morning for approx. 2 nights to run multiple tests. She will have an MRI and lumbar puncture to make sure the tumor is not present. Other tests to rule out endocrine problems (hormones) and rule out hydrocephalus. Primarily they will be looking into "Radiation Somnolence Syndrome" which is a side effect from radiation.

I will post more as we get results from tests.

Radiation Ends - School Begins!

Well, it was the day we have all been waiting for - Abby had her last day of radiation and has completed all of her treatments!!!! We are all so excited for her resume her normal life and get back to being a kid. Abby went back to school yesterday and all of her friends were so excited to see her. It was a great day.

So, where does she go from here? Abby is not technically in remission yet. She will have another MRI and lumbar puncture in 8 weeks. If all is clear and normal, she will be considered to be in remission. She will continue to have MRI's and lumbar punctures every 3 months for the first year post treatment and then every 4-6 months for four years after that. A patient is considered cured after 5 years post treatment with all tests and labs being normal and no relapses. She will always be considered a "cancer survivor" and followed by doctors throughout her life. Along with that, she will always be on hormone replacement medications for the hormones her pituitary gland and thyroid gland no longer produce. These are not an affect of chemo or radiation. It was the lack of these hormones that brought our attention to her diabetes insipidus and then the brain tumor. She will most likely require growth hormone injections to help her through puberty. It is unclear and unknown what this will mean in her adult life and her ability to conceive children. Lastly, she will have another neuro psych test in 18-24 months of completing radiation to see if radiation has effected her cognitive development.

Her journey is not over, but for now we are so grateful and overjoyed that she is doing well and her progress is going in the right direction. Abby has shown a tremendous amount of strength and courage throughout this process. She is truly amazing and we are so proud of her!

Back to School Soon

Abby had an appointment with her Neuro Oncologist on Thursday. All of her counts are good, she is doing great and has the approval of her doctor to return to school. School starts on Wednesday, August 11th. Abby has made the choice to start school after her Child Life Specialist can go to her class and talk to the kids. Her CLS, Andie, was able to go to her class at the end of last year to explain to the kids why Abby is no longer in class and tell them a little about cancer and the treatment Abby would go through. Well, this year of course it is a new grade and new students, so Abby would feel more comfortable if Andie talked to the kids about cancer and her hair loss. Although Abby is handling all of it very well, she understands that she does not have hair, people are curious and want to know why. She knows that she needs to wear a hat when she is outside, but immediately takes off her hat when she is inside. She seems to not care too much about her hair loss. She has mentioned that she hopes it grows back brown like before and long enough for a ponytail:)

4 more radiation treatments to go! Almost done! Yeah!

Half Way

Abby is about half way done with radiation. 8 treatments down, 9 more to go! She is doing amazing! Abby has and appointment with her Neuro Oncologist on August 5th to find out when she can return to school. This is a big year for the Radke's. Carly is starting preschool, Mason is going to kindergarten, and Abby is going back to school!

On Saturday, September 11th the Radke family will be participating in a fundraiser brain tumor walk in San Diego. We would love for you to walk with us and celebrate Abby's victory of her journey. It is a family friendly event, so all are welcome!

://www.braintumorcommunity.org/site/PageServer?pagename=BTW_SD_Homepage

Radiation Today

Today was Abby's first day of radiation. She did great! Cori was a little nervous going into the appointment. Worried how she would do with the mask over her face. She said that Abby came out of the appointment with a smile and the imprint of the mesh mask on her face:) The treatment itself lasts approx. 10 minutes and she will have a total of 17 treatments. Monday - Friday, everyday. Saturday and Sundays off. She is scheduled to complete treatments on August 12th.

Prior to radiation, Abby got some freedom and was able to get out into society. Her counts were good, so she was able to go to Carly's dance recital and shopping!

Great News Today!!

Last week Abby had an MRI and a lumbar puncture (spinal tap). Results given today showed that there are no cancer cells in her cerebral spinal fluid. There had not been any cancer cells in her CSF all along, so the good news is that it did not spread. Along with that, her MRI looks clean and normal. The tumor cannot been seen. Even more great news is that all of her lab counts are normal By normal, I mean they are normal of when she was healthy and pre cancer diagnosis. There are no tumor markers or elevated blood levels that would indicate cancer. She is not "cured" yet. Any remaining cancers cells that she has are at the microscopic level and still requires radiation. We are very excited about the progress she is making. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Today, Abby went to the radiation clinic to be fitted for her mask. This mesh like mask will secure her head to a platform so she does not move during radiation treatments. She will have 4 weeks of radiation and will begin next week.

Radiation Soon

Last week Abby had a Neuro Psych test, which was approx. a 4 hour exam. This was an important test to have before beginning radiation to establish her baseline for her cognitive functioning. She did very well and scored average and above average on different aspects of the exam. The results will be used to see if radiation affects her mental development.

Radiation will begin in approx. one week. She will receive radiation treatments every day (Monday - Friday) for 4 weeks. 

MRI is scheduled for Friday, July 9th to "map her brain" to target the radiation. 

Abby got her new glasses today. Pictures to be posted soon.