Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Chemo Day 1
Well his long awaited fight officially begins today. He started receiving his chemo IV around 3pm today. One thing that has been encouraging is that he seems to be eating better today which has not been the norm as of late. Here he is playing with his toys while halfway thru his session of Cisplatin. 
Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death
I know I started this blog several months ago as a way for family to watch Liam grow. I also KNOW I haven't done the best job at that.
Today this blog will begin to serve a new purpose; keeping everyone updated as Liam battles cancer. My baby has a fight and a battle ahead of him. What he is going through is nor fair and I wish I could make it all go away. But what I do know it that he is going to be okay. I have a strong little boy!
How did we figure out Liam has cancer?
About 6 weeks ago Liam began to refuse baby food. I knew this was 'normal' behavior and I should just keep trying; he would eat when he was ready. For a few weeks I just kept trying to feed him his fruits and veggies. Then he began waking up several times at night again. OH THE HORROR! We had just began sleeping through the night; this cannot happen.
I called the doctor for advice on getting Liam to eat. The doctor wasn't concerned he hadn't been eating foods; all the nutrition Liam needed was coming from the breastmilk. But he wanted me to bring Liam in for a weight check just to make sure Liam was still gaining weight. He wasn't; he had lost 5 ounces since his 6 month appointment.
After a conversation about how much milk Liam had been getting and a routine exam, the doctor wanted me to supplement feedings with formula. The doctor suspected Liam had refused food because he was too hungry and wasn't getting enough milk.
After a week of breastmilk/formula combo I was feeling good about Liam's calorie intake; I was sure we would see a weight gain. Back at the doctor's for another weight check, the nurse put Liam on scale. He had lost more weight.
After another routine exam the doctor found the top part of Liam's abdomen to be hard. He could tell something was enlarged, but could not tell what. He wanted us to go to the hospital for an ultrasound. It being Friday evening, the doctor admitted us to the hospital incase Liam needed to see a specialist we wouldn't have to wait til Monday.
At the hospital we had an ultrasound; it showed an enlarged liver. The doctor ordered a CT scan to get a better look. The CT scan showed there was a large tumor in his liver.
After meeting with the oncologist and surgeon it was determined the tumor could not savely be removed. Liam will need chemo to shrink the tumor because it can be removed. He will have 2 cycles of chemo then another CT scan to see how the tumor has responded. If it responds well he will have 2 more cycles of chemo then surgery to remove the tumor. If the tumor does not respond as expected Liam will have to go on the transplant list.
We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers. We are very fortunate to have such wonderful friends and family.
Today this blog will begin to serve a new purpose; keeping everyone updated as Liam battles cancer. My baby has a fight and a battle ahead of him. What he is going through is nor fair and I wish I could make it all go away. But what I do know it that he is going to be okay. I have a strong little boy!
How did we figure out Liam has cancer?
About 6 weeks ago Liam began to refuse baby food. I knew this was 'normal' behavior and I should just keep trying; he would eat when he was ready. For a few weeks I just kept trying to feed him his fruits and veggies. Then he began waking up several times at night again. OH THE HORROR! We had just began sleeping through the night; this cannot happen.
I called the doctor for advice on getting Liam to eat. The doctor wasn't concerned he hadn't been eating foods; all the nutrition Liam needed was coming from the breastmilk. But he wanted me to bring Liam in for a weight check just to make sure Liam was still gaining weight. He wasn't; he had lost 5 ounces since his 6 month appointment.
After a conversation about how much milk Liam had been getting and a routine exam, the doctor wanted me to supplement feedings with formula. The doctor suspected Liam had refused food because he was too hungry and wasn't getting enough milk.
After a week of breastmilk/formula combo I was feeling good about Liam's calorie intake; I was sure we would see a weight gain. Back at the doctor's for another weight check, the nurse put Liam on scale. He had lost more weight.
After another routine exam the doctor found the top part of Liam's abdomen to be hard. He could tell something was enlarged, but could not tell what. He wanted us to go to the hospital for an ultrasound. It being Friday evening, the doctor admitted us to the hospital incase Liam needed to see a specialist we wouldn't have to wait til Monday.
At the hospital we had an ultrasound; it showed an enlarged liver. The doctor ordered a CT scan to get a better look. The CT scan showed there was a large tumor in his liver.
After meeting with the oncologist and surgeon it was determined the tumor could not savely be removed. Liam will need chemo to shrink the tumor because it can be removed. He will have 2 cycles of chemo then another CT scan to see how the tumor has responded. If it responds well he will have 2 more cycles of chemo then surgery to remove the tumor. If the tumor does not respond as expected Liam will have to go on the transplant list.
We appreciate all the thoughts and prayers. We are very fortunate to have such wonderful friends and family.
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