Update on Wes...

" Ready for church"

On Sunday just before we were going to leave for church I quickly grabbed my camera and took a picture of Wes all dressed up. And I finally got a picture of him smiling so I figured I better quickly post it...

For those of you who have been asking here is another update on Wes...

Monday, February 9th he will be having another blood test at BTHC and immediately following the test he will go and see Dr. Woelk. Dr. Woelk will be deciding whether they go up another 100grams in his dosage. We are really hoping the dosage won't go up again, but we'll live with it if it does.

This week has been a week of many questions and I apologize if I have not been explaining Wes' chemo treatment properly. So, hopefully this will help answer some of your questions or perhaps help you to answer any ones asked of you.

Here are the answers to some of the most common questions I get;

- The chemo pills (temozolomide) that Wes is taking is in pill form, capsules to be exact and he is able to take these pills at home. He takes all the pills at once in the morning coated in peanut butter to take away the taste of the chemicals inside the capsules.

-The side effects from this type of chemo is not as severe as IV chemo, typically used for breast cancer. The biggest hurdle with this type of chemo is the extreme fatigue and not nausea as most people think. Wes sleeps a fair bit. There are some days, though not many, that he can get away without a lengthy nap, but then he is usually ready for bed right after supper. Some days the fatigue is quite intense and on those days he will have a 2-3 hour nap in the morning and another in the afternoon.

-He takes the chemo pills in the morning for 5 days in a row and then he is off for 23 days. At this point he has only taken one round of chemo which was at the beginning of January and will begin his second round within the next week.

-He has been going for blood work every Wednesday at BTHC to monitor his levels.

-In March he will be having an MRI at HSC to see how things look. Though they did remove the bulk of the tumour there is still a portion that they could not remove and this is the part that they will be monitoring with the MRI. The day after the MRI he will see his oncology doctor, Dr. Butler, for the results of that MRI. An MRI and a visit to Dr. Butler will be happening every 3 months

-He will continue with this chemo, MRI and specialist schedule for one year

-After the year of chemo is finished they will see Wes on a regular basis to monitor the tumour

-If, however, the tumour does continue to grow they have two other options - the gamma knife and/or another brain surgery, the doctor says that he is young enough to have another surgery if necessary.

-At present he is also on a low dosage of Dilantin three times a day - breakfast, lunch & supper - this medication is prophylactic, meaning that it is simply a preventative measure for possible seizures. At this point Wes has had no seizures which is why Dr. Butler will be reevaluating whether they will take him off of this medication at his March appointment. This is something that Wes is quite excited about. He would really like to get off of this medication if possible.

-Wes is still fully capable of driving and he has been able to keep his Class 1's as well

-The prognosis that Dr. Butler gave for Wes at this point is 5-10 years, leaning more towards the 10 year mark.

I think that covers most of the questions that I have had this week.

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. " Philippians 4:13