June 28th, 2008 - Great News as the journey continues

We returned home to the Sunny Coast late yesterday after a very full and rather anxious two days with all the tests on Cameron, and within a couple of hours Cam was out at Youth… nothing is going to stop this boy! The great news is that there do not appear to be any active cancer cells!  Praise God.  The disappointing news for Cam was that the tumour or mass is still evident – although it has of course shrunk significantly since February. The senior oncologist was not surprised saying she thought with a mass that size she would expected some residue.  Cam’s initial disappointment was heart-breaking as tears welled and he looked over at me with fear and anxiety. However, this soon passed as she emphasised that this PET Scan result, telling us that the cancer cells are all dead, is the most important one. So, in true Cameron style he was soon beaming again, joking and asking many questions. 

The oncologist is suggesting that for the next month we should ‘sit on our hands’ as far as treatment goes and Cam immediately made a joking gesture – holding out his hands with a chuckle.  The headline results of the tests were only given to us so that we didn’t have to be anxious all weekend. She expects to have all the detailed radiology, respiratory and other written test reports on Monday and will then discuss the way forward with her colleagues during their weekly meeting on Tuesday.  We will know the definite plan sometime this coming Wednesday.  There is a strong possibility that they will decide to do a biopsy to determine exactly what the exact nature of the remaining material in Cam’s chest is so that they can work out next steps. 
 
It is a strange place to be because while there are no living cancer cells, there is still glaring evidence of its presence so he is in an interim stage, which is how I think she referred to it.  We have to just continue to be patient and allow everything to work for a further month. That is the radiation, which is still active, as well as his immune system, which she says has not been compromised – unlike so many other kids. Cam was also very happy to have been given permission to return to most of his sports including tennis and other sports where he is in control.  He is not allowed to do cross country or any strenuous competitive team sports, tournaments or carnivals as such but this is a whole lot better than where he was just a few short months ago.
 
We were blessed yet again to catch up with our dear friends in and out of the hospital while in Brisbane and reminded too of the immense suffering of families living with cancer. In that world Cameron has really been extremely fortunate and we have much to be thankful for in that respect.  There are many children and their parents that need prayer at the moment and so we are grateful to we have been able to offer a hug, a word of encouragement and friendship – as we in turn have been so greatly blessed by them.  Our very special friends ‘M’ and ‘A’ are doing well and Cam, Carlton and Owen had a lot of fun catching up with them and we even managed a pizza night with ‘M’ and his family.  Some of our little friends are not doing at all well at the moment, which saddened us, but we believe the little fighters will soon be doing a whole lot better. 
 
Owen and Carlton did well waiting patiently for close to 3 hours while Cam had his PET Scan Thursday and Carlton went along to the hospital school for the morning on Friday and loved it.  They also love visiting the wonder factory, which is an amazing facility inside the hospital, filled with computers, electronic games, etc., where they also get to meet and play with other kids in similar situations. My prayer for all our boys is that this journey will touch them in such a way that they will grow into men full of humility, kindness, generosity, love and a willingness to help others with sincere compassion and deep understanding.

”Speak tenderly to them. Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting. Always have a cheerful smile. Don’t only give your care, but give your heart as well.” – Mother Teresa

PS: Some new pics in the gallery.

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 28th, 2008 at 9:44 am and is filed under Week 20. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

4 Responses to “Great News as the journey continues”

  1. billsr Says:
    June 28th, 2008 at 10:08 am

    Hi Cam,

    I……no we, are so pleased to hear that your scan and tests appear to show dead cells. I feel positive all will clear soon, so as everyone says, be patient and let nature AND God do it’s/his work. I keep looking out for a word or two, but maybe Dad can arrange a skype visit soon. Well done my boy, really VERY pleased. Love from Grandad Bill. Cape Town South Africa XXX

  2. Colleen Mockford Says:
    June 28th, 2008 at 10:14 am

    Hi Cameron, I am so happy to get this news today. Well done, you must be feeling great! Continue with everything you are doing and we will continue to pray and believe for full recovery. Love to you and the family from Tony, Colleen, Matthew and Nicole New Zealand xxxx

  3. Paine Family Says:
    June 30th, 2008 at 4:10 am

    Hello Cameron,

    We are all very happy to read your up date! What great news, we continue to think of you and your family often. We know you will go from strength to strength.

    with love

    Karen, Vince , Jack and Tamara xxxxx

  4. Deidre Wadl Says:
    July 8th, 2008 at 8:27 pm

    Hello Cam

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