GREAT NEWS!!!

We have gotten some great news today...

Princess Elizabeth's AFP levels are down to:


That's right! You are reading that correctly! Down from 3900 (3 weeks ago), to 3250 (2 weeks ago), to 859 now!! This is a significant decrease and means we can continue with the chemo we are using since it is, in fact, effecting her cancer.

Also, her CT scan results came back as somewhat favorable. While the large liver tumors she has appear to be larger, they also appear to be more necrotic (dead) than before. There currently appears to be only one peritoneal tumor, whereas before there were two. This is progress!

As far as the smaller liver lesions go (she originally was thought to have 15-20 throughout the liver, both lobes), they are not showing up on the CT... but they didn't show up on the CT the first time--we saw them on the MRI. So, there may still be evidence of cancer growth in these nodules, but they haven't gotten large enough for the CT to pick up, which could mean that they are dead and have stopped growing. Lots of assumptions there!

Elizabeth is going ahead with round 3 of the GEMOX chemo scheduled for Thursday and Friday mornings (eek! tomorrow!), and then we will be talking about surgery. Surgery?!? you say...

Well, yes, surgery. Elizabeth's necroses in her liver tumors appear to be quite liquidy. If we continue to use chemo on them, at some point, they could burst and spill cancerous cells everywhere. Hence the rush to get them out as soon as possible. We think that the surgery may be to stop further spread, not necessarily to be a cure.

To see this response is truly a miracle! We are not in the clear by any stretch of the imagination, but we are sure headed in the right direction. Please keep praying for Elizabeth, our continued sanity (if that's what you could call it!), and for guidance in our future decision making regarding treatment.

Thank you, all of you, for your kind messages and your prayers. We thank God for the blessings we received today!