August 8 - Ryan's a 2%'er!!!!!

For those who were worried about my lack of postings, I've been at my brother's cabin in Minnesota - no wifi.  But peace, quiet, loving family, sunlight dancing off the lake, a sunburn and singing loons.  The week ended too quickly!

I was musing as I flew back from Minnesota yesterday that it was had been 3 months since Ryan's diagnosis.....

He and Sophia went to Boston on Monday for his weekly check-up.  Week 4 (day 22) of Cycle 1 of CD22 antibody.  No chemo this time - just labs and a bone marrow biopsy.  He called me with the CBC results on Monday:  Hemoglobin 12 - Normal at last!!!  Platelets 168,000 - also normal!  WBC 2500 with 1490 neutrophils.  Oh-oh, I thought to myself.  The lymphocytes are up to 40%.  His neutrophils haven't increased much at all.......

I busied myself with a puzzle at the cabin, packing up to leave, a good book on the plane.  When I finally went to bed around 2 am I couldn't sleep.  Everything was looking so good.  And everyone else on the clinical trial had "responded".  Ryan had responded, too - really well for the first two weeks, but now the lymphocytes were increasing again.......... 

Our landlord is going to sell the duplex and called yesterday to say that he would be bringing by a real estate agent at 3 pm today to see the property.  I've never been accused of being the best housekeeper, and with my life lately the place was pretty ugly when I left for Minnesota.  So I got up today and the girls helped me attack the house - another diversion from Thinking....

My phone rang around noon, and Sarah, the Physician Assistant from Dana Farber, asked for Ryan.  I'm sweating.  Then Ryan says "Score!!!" and gets a huge grin on his face.  "2% blasts, huh?  That's great."

Now I'm dancing down the hall with wobbly knees and saying prayers of thanks. 

At the time of his diagnosis 3 months ago, he had 78 % blasts - lymphoblasts - the cancer cells.  Normal is less than 5 % - and that's the level at which patients are considered to be in "remission".  At the end of his 30 day "induction" therapy - being bombarded with almost every drug in the book, he was down to a disappointing 23%.  After the 5 more days of chemo in July it was back up high enough that Dr. Zachon deemed him refractory to the chemo, contacted the Dana Farber team and recommended the clinical trial.  The marrow biopsy that was done just before initiation of the CD22 antibody showed he was back up to 74% blasts. 

Now after 3 weekly treatments with an experimental drug, his results are incredibly good - better than I could have hoped for.  And without significant impact on his other blood cells - no transfusions, no frequent blood tests.

This is truly a miracle!!!  The odds are so against him being in this place at this time with this treatment available and an unexpected opening in the clinical trial - the list goes on and on.  God is truly still a God of miracles.  We feel SO blessed.

The current plan is for two more 4 week "cycles" of the CD22 antibody, then stem cell transplant.  That puts the transplant in mid-October or so.

I think I'll sleep soundly tonight.

Thanks for all the prayers and support.
---Barb