Saturday, February 28: Luke 1 - Asshat 0

Hey all, Luke had a good but pretty uneventful week. For the most part we got to watch Luke eat which he continued to do with great acumen and voraciousness. As of Friday he had reached a massive 135 lbs.

From a treatment standpoint Luke ended the 28 day induction phase yesterday. Luke celebrated the occasion with one of his new MDA best friends (aka clinic nurse Brandie).

The induction period ended with blood and bone marrow samples and another lumbar puncture and chemo. Bone marrow was taken later than usual so we did not get results yesterday. Caught Luke relaxing some after his bone marrow and LP. Don't know where it came from but I just notice that dark mole on his left earlobe.

If Luke's blood and bone marrow results are good he will have a one week recovery period - so no chemo next week (yea!). The following week he will begin part one of the three part consolidation phase.

Part one of the consolidation phase is two months. Schedule and chemo will be significantly different from the induction phase. The primary purpose of the induction phase was to get rid of the blast cells in the bone marrow and blood. The consolidation phase chemo is designed to attack the DNA and RNA of the cancer producing cells and impede their ability to reproduce.

The schedule for chemo and the chemo given during the consolidation phase will be significantly different for the induction phase. Luke will get chemo over consecutive days. Chemo will take his blood count down to very low levels. He will be given time necessary for his blood count to recover and then he will get hit again. The chemo during this phase may initially require it being given inpatient as it is highly toxic on the kidneys and they will want him on IV to assure his kidneys are flushed.

Luke has weathered the induction phase well. He emerged with hair thinning but for the most part intact (when we met with his doctor on Wednesday he assured us that he would take care of Luke's hair over the next three weeks)

Kendall was here over last weekend and will be in town again next week. Jamie Bailey stopped by for an afternoon. Luke is looking forward to feeding on mudbugs this afternoon and playing a little guitar with Lakewood Forest's renowned Motley Rockers.

For those that have helped us out by providing meals thank you. They have been a blessing and are greatly appreciated.