Hannah’s Journey

We haven’t posted in a while, because once again, Hannah is dealing with a new challenge in her ongoing battle. Last Tuesday, I (mom) took her to Sloan Kettering for a cat scan. On Wednesday evening, her oncologist called to let us know that her tumor had doubled in size, and that because of this, she would be disqualified from the clinical trial. In the rules of the trial, some tumor growth is expected, however, the powers that be only want to see a 20% growth or less. Because she had 100% growth, she can no longer participate. Her oncologist went to bat for her with the drug company who set the parameters for the trial, but was unsuccessful.

We met with the oncology team on Thursday of last week to discuss Hannah’s other options. In addition to the news of the tumor growth, we were also informed that for several years, the team had been looking at a lymph node in the lung area. It had never changed in size, but in the last 6 weeks, it has suddenly grown from 2.2 cms to 2.7 cms. Unfortunately, this lymph node is surrounded by several major arteries.

The decision was made to go back to chemo administered through the blood stream. Hannah would receive one type of chemo on Monday, followed the next Monday by the same chemo, and an additional one. She would then have the third week to recover her blood counts. The plan is to do 2 three week cycles, repeat all of the scans, and possibly do her surgery then. She would continue with chemo as long as her body could tolerate it. During the surgery to remove the tumor from her lung, the surgeon would find a way to biopsy the lymph node or possible remove it.

We have once again been dealt an emotional blow, however Hannah continues to be upbeat and strong. She really is an amazing person. On her first day of chemo yesterday, a Mass of Healing was held for her at St. John’s in Goshen. We were unable to attend, however many of her friends and ours were there (at 6:30 a.m.). It is hard to come up with the words to let people know how much this meant to us. It is comforting to us to know that so many people are out there praying and pulling for her.