Beautiful day out today and word is that Ilyanna is coming to the end of the first round of treatment. It has been almost a week and Ily is down to 2 more doses of treatment. One this evening and one tomorrow. HURRAY ILYANNA!!
She had not been eating these past few days but today she ate 5 ounces. So that was terrific on her part. Mom, Dad, and Ilyanna may take a walk down to the garden just to get out of the room for a bit.
They are planning on giving her a blood transfusion before she comes home to build up her blood count which is the most difficult part because it takes several days for the chemo to effect the body.
Ilyanna is doing so well they hope to be able to go home by Wednesday or Thursday.Once they get through this round their are just 2 more rounds to go.
Christina and Thiago want to Thank all of you for your prayers, they are so very much appreciated.
April 22....First Chemo Session
Well, Ilyanna entered the hospital yesterday to get ready for her first chemotherapy session.She entered the hospital all smiles as usual. The first thing they did was give her the Benadryl for the nauseousness. It wasn't until about 3 am that they started the Methotrexate,a trial drug that the family has opted to try for chemotherapy.Ilyanna was awake every few hours during the night. Early in the morning she seemed to get the shakes which is caused by the medicine and had one episode of vomiting. As of now she is sleeping and resting comfortably. That's all we can hope for at the moment is that she will be comfortable. They will continue to check Ily's urine and when it shows that the Methotrexate is almost out of her system then they will give her another dose of chemo.
Ilyanna will be in the hospital for the next 8 to 10 days but I will update this blog as her days go along.
Now Christina and Thiago our prayers are going out to the two of you but you both need to try and rest. When Ily is resting make sure you both eat properly. You have a long haul ahead of you both and love and prayers are going to get you part of the way but rest and food are going to get you some of the way also.
Ilyanna will be in the hospital for the next 8 to 10 days but I will update this blog as her days go along.
Now Christina and Thiago our prayers are going out to the two of you but you both need to try and rest. When Ily is resting make sure you both eat properly. You have a long haul ahead of you both and love and prayers are going to get you part of the way but rest and food are going to get you some of the way also.
April 13, 2009
We sat down with Ilyanna's Oncologist's this evening and had a long talk about what decision they had come to and what plans they had decided on to treat her. She had decided that they were pretty sure Ilyanna had Medullablastoma but are running a few more tests just to make sure. The ATRT has a certain chromosone it it which is missing. So to be on the positive side they have sent the biopsy out to John Hopkin's Institute.
This is good news as with having Medullablastoma this gives Ilyanna a survival rate of 35-40% which ATRT is only a 10% chance. The Doctor explained in full detail the treatments and just what it will entail for Ilyanna's chemotherapy.The Doctor gave us a couple of options about her treatment and medicine for which we are going to have to think long and hard about...because after all we want to do what is best for our daughter.
For the most part she will undergo 3 cycles of chemotherapy..once every 4 weeks.Then after each cycle they will do an MRI to see if the tumor has shrunk or if it is gone. If it is not gone they will do another cycle of chemotherapy. If it is gone and everything is fine then they will go ahead and do 3 doses of stem cell transplant.
This is good news as with having Medullablastoma this gives Ilyanna a survival rate of 35-40% which ATRT is only a 10% chance. The Doctor explained in full detail the treatments and just what it will entail for Ilyanna's chemotherapy.The Doctor gave us a couple of options about her treatment and medicine for which we are going to have to think long and hard about...because after all we want to do what is best for our daughter.
For the most part she will undergo 3 cycles of chemotherapy..once every 4 weeks.Then after each cycle they will do an MRI to see if the tumor has shrunk or if it is gone. If it is not gone they will do another cycle of chemotherapy. If it is gone and everything is fine then they will go ahead and do 3 doses of stem cell transplant.
April 14, 2009
Off to the hospital early to have some blood work and have the surgery so that the portcath can be put it. They also are taking some spinyl fluid and some bone marrow. Ilyanna came through with flying colors. When she woke up...she woke up with that beautiful smile of hers on.
All in all it is going to be a long hard battle for Ilyanna but as our family and the Doctors believe if anyone can do Ilyanna can.
We would like to Thank every one for their support and Prayers and please keep up the prayers as we are really going to need them as this progresses.
All in all it is going to be a long hard battle for Ilyanna but as our family and the Doctors believe if anyone can do Ilyanna can.
We would like to Thank every one for their support and Prayers and please keep up the prayers as we are really going to need them as this progresses.
April 10, 2009
On April 13th, Christina, Thiago, and Christina's parents will go in and meet with the Drs. And discuss the treatment plan for our beautiful Ilyanna. She is a strong baby. I know she will be just fine.
On April 14th, Ilyanna will be going into Children to have the port-a-cath put in. She most likely will be admitted for the night and her Mom and Dad will be taught how to use it.
On April 14th, Ilyanna will be going into Children to have the port-a-cath put in. She most likely will be admitted for the night and her Mom and Dad will be taught how to use it.
April 9, 2009
After waiting patiently, well maybe not patiently, they were able to narrow the results down to 2 cancers. Ilyanna was diagnosed with either Medullablastoma or Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor (ATRT) both very serious cancers. Cancers that would need intense chemotherapy. They have other specialists looking at the biopsy to try and narrow this down even further. These 2 cancers are so similar that this is why they have come up with these results.
March 30, 2009
Ilyanna went in for a 5 hour surgery. They could not remove the whole tumor. They were able to get just enough to do the biopsy. Ilyanna came through the surgery wonderfully. She was smiling 2 days later. She recovered very well and Christina and Thiago were able to bring her home on April 3 to wait for the biopsy results.
March 27, 2009
Ilyanna went for her cat scan. The cat scan showed that Ilyanna had a mass in the cerebellum region of her brain and they wanted to do a MRI right away to find out what it was. The MRI showed that Ilyanna had a brain tumor and a few dots in her spine which gave them the conclusion that it was cancer and that it had already begun to spread.
The Doctor's felt it was of an urgent need that Ilyanna have surgery right away so she was admitted to the hospital that day. They needed to remove a piece of the tumor for a biopsy to distinguish what type of cancer it was.
The Doctor's felt it was of an urgent need that Ilyanna have surgery right away so she was admitted to the hospital that day. They needed to remove a piece of the tumor for a biopsy to distinguish what type of cancer it was.
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