Neuroblastoma

Earlier today, we received confirmation that Curtis has stage IV Neuroblastoma, which originated in his adrenal gland and has spread to the bones in his back and neck. His cancer is behaving very aggressively, so doctors want to treat it very aggressively. His first round of chemotherapy will begin tomorrow, and if all goes well, Curtis will be able to come home in about a week while he waits for his second round. Once his bone marrow has recovered from his second round of chemo, we will head to the Sick Children's Hospital in Toronto, for a procedure that will remove stem cells from his body - (these stem cells will be stored for a future procedure). Following this, we will come back to Ottawa for rounds three, four and five of chemo. After round five, the surgeons will reevaluate whether or not they can safely remove what's left of Curtis' tumor. If this is not possible, the surgeons will take as much as they can, and chemo and radiation will be required for any remaining pieces. Round six of chemo is a high dose, that will essentially kill off all of his marrow. After this round, we will head back to Toronto, where doctors will transplant the stem cells taken following round two back into his body. At this point this is all the information that we have on Curtis' treatment, but should we find out anything else we will keep you updated.

We want you all to know how much your support and kind words mean to us right now. Without all of you in our lives, I'm not sure how we would get through this. Please continue to visit, and if we are lucky enough to come home in between treatments, we welcome visitors at home too. It really helps Curtis to keep his spirits up:) Thank you for your love and prayers.