Rest In Peace, Landon

A few days ago I posted about Landon, asking for prayers as his little body was full of tumors.

His mom posted that Landon passed away this morning ... comfortable and peaceful. As she said, "he is no longer bound to the body that kept him in pain for so long."

My heart is breaking for this family. Please keep them in your prayers as they adjust to life without their young son.

Prayers for Landon

I met Colleen and her son Landon through the Down syndrome support group in Maryland. Landon is exactly 6 months younger than Kayla.

Landon has been through too much in his short life. In 2006 he was diagnosed with AML. He was in remission. In 2007 it returned and later that year he had a bone marrow transplant.

Earlier this month an MRI revealed "...2 spots in each kidney, 2 spots on his ribs, and he has a mass on his pancreas. There are also 3 spots on his head."

Then he had an Endoscopic Retrograde Choloangiopancreatography which showed 2 more spots in his stomach. From his mom's journal, "There is a large tumor behind Landon's left eye deep into the socket. There is a tumor behind his right eye. There are tumors in his brain. There are two on the front lobes...so there are at least four inside his head and three on the outside of his head."

Tumors are showing up on the side of his face, his left arm and leg. They are spreading and growing fast.

Cancer sucks.

Landon, and his family, need your prayers. Please pray for Landon.

The Latest On My Dad

Here is a not-so-good update on my dad; sure wish I had better news to share.

From the last update I posted about my dad he did have the PET scan done on his liver. He was told the sugar solution in the IV would light up any cancer tumors and the spots on his liver didn't light up, so the report read there was no spread to the liver. He was told the cancer was Stage 2B or 3A.

On the 14th he went to the Moffitt Cancer Center for a repeat endoscopic ultrasound and cat scan. From that appt he was told the cancer had 'infiltrated' the portal vein and he most likely wouldn't be a candidate for the Whipple procedure. He had an appt with the surgeon scheduled for the 20th, but after the results of the endoscopic ultrasound that was canceled. My dad thought maybe after doing chemo and having it shrink from the portal vein they might be able to do the surgery after that.

On Thur he had an appt with the chemo dr at Moffitt. That dr asked my dad if anyone had given him the results of the cat scan that was done on the 14th; no one had yet.

He went over the cat scan and compared it to the original cat scan (the one that showed the spots on the liver and prompted the PET scan). This dr said the spots have not only increased in size, but increased in number and based on that this mean the spots in the liver were indeed cancerous...it has spread to the liver and is now classified as Stage 4.

I really don't understand all of these results; how the PET scan report determined the spots on the liver weren't cancerous because they didn't 'light up' but now the 2nd cat scan showed more spots, so it means it has spread.

I'm just in shock from thinking it hadn't spread to other organs and being Stage 2, to having it metastasize and being Stage 4.

I think my dad is starting chemo this week; and he also qualified for a clinical study that is just starting at Moffitt, but has been in use at other facilities.

My dad is trying to have a positive outlook on his prognosis and not accepting the 'timeline' that he was given. I'm trying to follow suit and remain positive as well.

I greatly appreciate any prayers you can offer up on my dad's behalf.

Update on my Dad

My dad had the biopsy done on the mass that was on his pancreas.

The doctor said the mass is cancerous and maybe stage two. They still have to get the official results from the lab, but from the doctor's experience he was pretty confident in saying it was cancerous. I guess going in for the biopsy it was already a 95% chance that it was cancerous because a mass at the head of the pancreas is usually nothing else but cancerous.

On this initial exam he didn't see that it had spread to the liver or any other organs.

On Tuesday my dad will have a catscan done of the surrounding blood vessels to see if it has spread there. If it hasn't spread to the blood vessels they will schedule him for a Whipple Procedure. If it has spread there I guess it's straight to chemo and radiation.

Of course we're praying that it was caught early enough and they can do this procedure; I'm thankful it's not in Stage 4.

I still feel numb about it all though.

Thank you for the prayers.

Prayer Request

Tomorrow my dad is having a biopsy done on a mass on his pancreas; and he has jaundice. I'm trying not to stress about that but instead thinking positive thoughts that it's just a cyst.

Prayers and/or positive thoughts are much appreciated.

Fighting Cancer Again

Ashlyn is a little girl who, in her short life, has already fought and won her battle with AML. Unfortunately she has recently been diagnosed with another type of cancer - ALL. Having cancer once is bad enough, but now she has to go through this all over again.

Carey, mom to Chelsea - who is also a cancer survivor - is having a fundraiser to help Ashlyn's family with the cost of gas from all the trips to the hospital they will be making. For every mascara that is purchased, $5 will be donated to their gas fund.

Please keep Ashlyn and her family in your prayers as they go through this battle once again.

Prayers for tomorrow please

Kayla is getting her 3rd set of ear tubes tomorrow. It's a relatively easy procedure and we should be out of there in a few hours, but it makes me nervous all the same! Please pray that everything goes well with the surgery and that she has a smooth recovery afterwards.

I'm not sure what time it will be, I have to call today to find out. I know tomorrow I'm also doing the drawing for the giveaway - and I'll still get to that! Just not sure when I'll be able to post about it, probably later tomorrow afternoon. And I have a surprise about the giveaway so stay tuned!

The weather has turned to spring here, almost summer on some days! It was time to pull out the cooler pjs for Kayla. I think she looks like such a big girl in a nightgown instead of footed pjs!





Sigh. She's still my baby girl though.