MAINTENANCE BEGINS!

When we arrived at the clinic today Sandy said,"There should be fireworks, bells and whistles!" Yes,there should. I shutter when I think of where we were last year at this very time. Kristin had an LP courtesy of Dr. Hastings and Dr. Lasko with IT methotrexate and an iv push of vincristine.(which has caused the worse neuropathy yet! I am keeping her home from school because it is so bad.) She also began a PO(by mouth) regime of 6MP which will be every day another year and half, DEX for the same duration of time, oral methotrexate once a week for the same time period. Weekend bactrim will continue until the end of maintenance. In a nutshell the goal of Maintenance therapy is as follows. If a patient stays in remission after induction and consolidation therapy,which Kristin has, maintenance therapy begins. I have said many times that is takes a long time to "kill leukemia." The goal is to destroy any disease cells that remain so that the leukemia is completely gone. Maintenance therapy is less intense than the other two phases. It is not a walk in the park, but the transfusions, etc. should be behind us. It may last two to three years. She should be gaining some strength, growing some hair, be in school on a more regular basis,and feel much better soon.

Kristin's official stop chemo date is APRIL 2010!
We are counting the days and NO....I did not type the date wrong. I hope this answers many of your questions about whether or not she is finished with treatment.

This is a huge accomplishment for Kristin. How grateful we are for the gifts and talents of her medical team for bringing her this far. Without their truly amazing talents and the progress of research, Kristin would not be with us today. This alone is our greatest gift!

Comments

Amy Girl said…
and what a gift it is.
December 12, 2008 at 11:57 AM
Kathy Hawley said…
How exciting!!!!!! This may be the best celebration at your house for the season! I hope you find smooth sailing from now on. The regimen sounds pretty much like what it was 10 years ago, and it worked for Jennifer then! I loved the picture of everyone with the hair! Best wishes to all, Kathy
December 12, 2008 at 12:30 PM
Anonymous said…
Congratulations on officially reaching maintenance! May all go as expected from here on out - we wish you only the very best.
December 15, 2008 at 7:33 AM
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