A Time to Celebrate

Max turned 5 this month and what a time to celebrate, eight months ago we didn’t know if this day would come.  Max’s village made an incredible showing of support for this major event and his birthday celebrations went on for weeks, including a trip to SeaWorld, Lego Land, Playworks and a huge party at Winners Tennis club. 

We have made a decision to stop chemo after this round is complete in 3 weeks, 1 round short of the original standard protocol.  This decision is supported by both Max’s oncologist Jenny Kim and our trusted friend and integrative medicine guru Richard Helfrich.  After completing 3 MRI’s over a 5 month time period the tumor appears to be stable in size at 2.6cm so our hope is that only dead tissue remains.  No more chemo, no more poisoning Max’s little body.   A time for champane or tears?…….probably a little of both.

 Dr Kim thinks it would take 6 months before scans would be able to detect any new cancer growth so the next 6 months will be a time to focus on Max’s strength and immune system.  Ahead of us will be years of intense supplements and healthy choices in our lives to help Max’s body have the best chance of beating his battle against cancer. We will be managing the late effects of cancer, chemo and radiation for years to come but for now its time for a fun, normal kid summer.  Go Spartacus!