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Chasing Away Childhood Cancer

Chase

Six years ago today began an unimaginable journey.

“Six years ago today began an unimaginable journey. I can still hear our footsteps as we walk down the sterile hallway. I can feel the chill in the air of the cold conference room. I can still see the look on the doctor’s face. The crack in his voice as he began to speak said it all….” Whitney Ringler

Luckily Today Chase is a very active child who loves school, soccer, swimming, and Legos. At the age of 3, he was diagnosed with stage IV neuroblastoma, a form of cancer that left him with a 30 percent chance of survival. He had a tumor on his left adrenal gland and cancer in his bone marrow and skull. Chase’s treatment included surgery, eight rounds of high dose chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant, 14 rounds of radiation, six months of Accutane and 11 rounds of painful monoclonal antibody therapy. The risk of relapse is high, and there is no cure if it occurs, so his doctors follow him closely. Through it all, Chase has shown tremendous strength and courage. He consistently warms the hearts of everyone with his smile and laughter.

Below are some Blog post from Chases mother written in October 2007 during the first month of diagnosis and treatment.

Some good news!
Posted on October 15, 2007 by whitneyrich

Today we finally got some good news about Chase’s cancer. The tumor pathology came back to be very favorable for treatment. We are extremely excited about these results. He has had three days of treatment in his first round of chemo. So far we have not seen any side effects. He has been up playing and eating pretty good. The doctors say we can go home on Wednesday evening so we are all looking forward to getting back into a routine. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers. We greatly appreciate all the support. It means everything to us during this difficult time.

We are home!
Posted on October 17, 2007 by whitneyrich

After a two and a half week hospital stay and every test, scan and drug imagineable we are finally home. We will be home for 16 days and then back to MUSC for 5 days of treatment. He has tolerated his first round of chemo remarkably well with no side effects. He had five days of the drugs cyclophosphamide and topotecan. Last week they did an MIBG scan which highlights any neuroblastoma cells in the body. They found a spot on his skull. This does not change his protocol at all. He is still stage 4 and the treatment should take care of it. So at this point the cancer is in the bone marrow and also on his skull. Everything that was in his belly is gone thanks to the surgery. It is so good to hear him playing and having a great time with Erica. I can hear them dancing and singing in the other room.

Chase and erica

First day home.
Posted on October 18, 2007 by whitneyrich

Today was our first day at home. Chase did great. He slept all night last night and didn’t need any medicine all night. We spent the majority of the day at the clinic today getting blood-work done, changing his Broviac bandage and getting his G-CSF medication. That is to help stimulate white blood cells to help him when his counts are low. He will be getting that everyday at home through his Broviac (port). When we got home he had a great time playing with Erica. He was jumping over his little spider-man couch and doing forward rolls. Imagine that only two weeks after major abdominal surgery!!! He still has not had any side effects from the chemo and is doing really well.

The cancer fights back
Posted on October 23, 2007 by whitneyrich

All the good news couldn’t last forever. This afternoon about 2:00pm Chase started running a fever. After consulting with his oncologist it was decided he needed to be seen at the hospital due to the fever being higher than normal. Bloodwork at the ER confirmed his white blood cell count was essentially zero, which is normal after chemo, however this coupled with the 101 degree fever is worrisome. The remedy is to dose him up with some strong antibiotics and admit him to the hospital until his counts have recovered ~ 3-4 days.

Today was the first day we’ve noticed a significant impact from the chemotherapy. Chase was simply content to sit on the couch and watch cartoons, while dosing off from time to time. Eating is getting to be more and more of a challenge, hopefully this will improve once he starts feeling better.