Kameron's First Week of Treatment

After 3 days in the hospital, Kameron is home! As you can probably imagine, after undergoing his first round of chemotherapy, he has been quite tired and feeling under the weather. It has been a whirlwind couple weeks since receiving his osteosarcoma diagnosis. We are sorting out our new normal and what Kameron's treatment/appointments/expectations will look like over the next months.

This week (Tuesday) we met again with the local oncology orthopedist. At the 10 week mark, Kameron will need to undergo surgery to remove the tumor in his right femur. The doctor explained what his surgical plan would be for removal. It would require an oncological resection of the tumor with wide margins, utilizing cadaver bone, and instrumentation that would look like a fancier (more entailed) knee replacement. However, surgery is more risky for Kameron because of his chemotherapy, which makes him immunocompromised (ie: susceptible to infections). Infection is a big concern. As well as blood clots.

We also checked in this week with his oncologist (cancer doctor). Kameron has always had intermittent bloody noses, but the chemotherapy has made that worse for him. They helped us navigate plans to manage those at home and prevent them. They have been wonderful about navigating social programs and secondary insurances that will help cover Kameron's extensive medical needs. Their program made this complex process easier to understand and navigate in a clear, step-by-step process. It was so wonderful to see a system work so well for its patients! 

We are doing what we can to support Kameron as he fights osteosarcoma. He has had to go on a low-microbial diet. Which means, no sushi. That was a bummer. Basically, it's super important we keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold, and wash the heck out of anything fresh he eats. We also got him a gamer's laptop that he'll be able to take with him to his treatments (which we learned will require an inpatient hospitalization every time he has a chemotherapy treatment). The treatments really affect his appetite, so we have been diligent to make him or get him whatever he is feeling up to eating. Somedays, it's mint chocolate chip ice cream for dinner! He has been loved on by friends and had snacks, blankets, Chinese food, and activities brought to him to fight boredom. He was able to video chat with dad during his hospitalization and go "virtual shopping" for snacks at the Asian Market, which he seemed to enjoy.

We would appreciate continued prayers as we continue to navigate getting a prior authorization/approval from our insurance company to go to University of Texas MD Anderson in Houston, Texas. Our doctor wrote a letter for us on Tuesday asking them to expedite our request to be seen out-of-network, as their sarcoma program has better than the national average odds for Kameron's specific kind of cancer. We are wanting the best/most promising treatments possible for him. We are currently in a waiting pattern for approval, and this can take 72 hours. We are hoping for answers on this soon. 

Kameron has another off week of chemotherapy treatments, this coming week. He will see his oncologist again next week and he'll have more lab work to closely watch how his body is handling treatments. His type of chemotherapy requires three different medications. These can cause damage to his heart, kidneys, hearing and peripheral nerves-- which is why they watch him so closely in the hospital. 

Because Kameron is so susceptible to infections with his treatments, we are limiting our outings and exposure to others. We ask if you are sick, you respectfully keep your distance, to keep Kam safe.

Thank you to those of you who have reached out. For those continuing to hold up our family in prayer. We know Kameron isn't battling this alone. And many of you have come alongside our family and supported each of us, loved on each one of us, and helped carry and encourage us when the load gets heavy.  Thank you doesn't seem like enough, but right now, it's what we have.