remission! and surgery tomorrow

We are thrilled to share that Ethan's leukemia is officially in remission! We met with his doctor yesterday to discuss the results of last week's bone marrow biopsy and learned that not only did they see 0 blasts under the microscope, but also that his Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) - cancer not seen by the human eye) - was also 0! The goal of induction was to have these results and so we are so, so, SO thankful that the chemo did what it was supposed to do.

We also learned that Ethan is officially classified as having Intermediate risk T-Cell ALL. Though he did achieve remission by the end of induction, his cancer took a little longer to clear (some ALL clears by Day 8 for some kids) and so he is considered to be a Slow Early Responder. This is fairly typical for T-Cell ALL - in fact, about 60% of patients are in the Intermediate Risk category.

We also got the next road map for Ethan's treatment for the next phase which is called "consolidation," and lasts for the next 57 days. During this phase the goal is to get rid of any hidden cancer that might be in Ethan's system and so they attack with a different set of chemo drugs. Because we are enrolled in the clinical trial we were randomized to determine the treatment path that we would take. The trial that we are on has 4 treatment arms - one that includes the typical standard of care right now, and then 3 arms that have slight differences in the type of chemo given. We were randomized by the computer and ended up on the standard care arm. What this means is that Ethan will receive the typical protocol that is given for T-Cell ALL patients right now. This includes intense chemotherapy and some cranial radiation.

Ethan has a big day tomorrow as it is the first day of his Consolidation phase. He is having surgery at 10:30 to have his permanent port put in his chest which will be a central line for chemo to be given throughout the rest of his treatment. He will also be receiving 4 different chemos tomorrow. Because it's such a busy day we will be admitted and stay overnight in the hospital.

Thank you so much for all of your faithful prayers for Ethan. We are so incredibly thankful that he is currently in remission and pray that the treatment continues to keep his leukemia in remission. Please pray that tomorrow's surgery and chemo goes well. We will keep you posted as the day goes along!