Medical Details

For those of you who want a little background here is a snapshot:

Reba was experiencing weight loss and abdominal pain over the past few months. A CT scan a little over a month ago didn't show anything. Reba knew there was something going on so asked for additional testing. Next was a pelvic ultrasound where, during the exam, Reba asked the tech to scan a little higher in the abdomen and a mass was found. An MRI was ordered, the mass was confirmed and then Reba was admitted to the hospital. We were hoping Reba would not only have the mass removed but also would have a hysterectomy. However, during surgery Dr. Tanaka knew the mass was cancerous so he decided, much to Rebas' great irritation, the hysterectomy would have to wait. Next came the process of wrapping our heads around the diagnosis. We knew it was cancer, but still didn't know what kind. The lab work took forever and finally Reba received a call from Dr. Bressler. He told her it was a really rare kind of cancer related to Ewing Sarcoma. For those of you who google, you will immediately see that Reba isn't a 15 to 20 year old boy with cancer in her bones. Well, we all knew Reba is special.

The meeting with the oncologist, Dr. Xavier, and her resident, Dr. Nazir was full of positive information. They are treating the cancer like it's Lymphoma. The cancer is at stage 2 or 3. She is going to get a port in her chest where the chemotherapy cocktail will be administered. It's also where they will draw blood. They are going to keep a close eye on her white blood cell count. She will be inpatient for 4 days and out for 7. She is scheduled for three of these inpatient treatments but that may change when they see how she is handling the chemotherapy. The best news is that she has a very high probability of a 5 year cure rate!! Wahoooooooo!

(Louisa)