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Our son, George Mitchell, was recently diagnosed with Stage III Rhabdomyosarcoma, a very rare cancer.
There are only about 350 cases of RMS diagnosed each year in the United States in children under the age of 21 years. About four children per million under the age of 15 will develop RMS each year. It is slightly more common in boys than in girls, and it is most common in young children under the age of five.
George's growth has originated in his upper palate, making his particular case even more rare. There have been only 30 cases of palate-located RMS reported over the past 50 years of research and records-keeping.
George's radiation/chemo schedule will necessitate our family travelling to Banner University Medical Center in Tucson (70 miles from home) and staying at hotels near George while he's being treated. There will be 43 weeks of chemo.
At the beginning of each round (roughly once a month) he will have a three-day stay in the hospital, to reduce George's risk of infection in the time immediately following chemotherapy, as this round reduces his white blood cell count.
Over the course of a typical month, there will also be 2-3 family trips to Tucson for outpatient treatment, and for those excursions we will be able to return home until the next round.
At the end of each month's cycle, George will have a five-day stay in the hospital, because the final round of chemo for the month reduces not only his white blood cell count, but his platlet count as well, during which time he will be receiving blood and/or plasma transfusions.
George is seven years old, and is in the second grade.
His interests include video games, such as: Minecraft, Angry Birds, Plants Versus Zombies, Star Wars, Stuart Little, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Pokemon Go!, and any game with Spider-Man in it. He's also strongly interested in oceanography, engineering, listening to music, and playing with his Legos and Thomas the Tank Engine trains.
UPDATE: 3/9/2017: Georgie has turned eight years old today. The rounds of chemo- thus far, he's gone through six- have taken their toll. Georgie's lost a bit of weight, and his medications often have him sleeping odd hours, but his spirit its strong.
His classroom has a Teddy bear that sits in with the kids.
He scored some pretty neat toys on his birthday this year!
He got a Star Wars Blade-Builder set, a real Pokeball, a few t-shirts (Including a Spider-Man one that glows in the dark) and a few of his favorite movies on dvd, TeenageMutant Ninja Turtles and Pixels.
And Mommy made Georgie a Plants vs Zombies cake!
UPDATE: MARCH 3, 2018
We've been laying low the last few months, resting up and recuperating after George gonged out of his active chemotherapy at the Chemo Clinic at the end of October. We've been blessed with a great support and medical team throughout the process, but it has been by necessity grueling for all involved, and for a time, cancer was the last thing any of us wanted to think about.
In all, he's gone through two surgeries, did 43 rounds of chemo, 28 doses of radiation, endured numerous hospitalizations and countless MRI, PET and CT scans. His MRI scans since leaving chemotherapy have shown a steady rate of tumor shrinkage and his doctors had wanted to hold off on the surgeries to minimize the facial damage from the procedure.
What we hope will be his final two surgeries have been scheduled for later this month, and George is thrilled because he'll also finally be getting his port removed, meaning he can run and play and go to P.E. like a normal kid again.
George's 9th birthday (which for a time we weren't sure of) happens a week from today- and it's his golden birthday.
We will be posting some birthday pictures and health updates as we get them. We just wanted to check in with everybody to say "Thank you" and to let you know how it's all going.
There are only about 350 cases of RMS diagnosed each year in the United States in children under the age of 21 years. About four children per million under the age of 15 will develop RMS each year. It is slightly more common in boys than in girls, and it is most common in young children under the age of five.
George's growth has originated in his upper palate, making his particular case even more rare. There have been only 30 cases of palate-located RMS reported over the past 50 years of research and records-keeping.
George's radiation/chemo schedule will necessitate our family travelling to Banner University Medical Center in Tucson (70 miles from home) and staying at hotels near George while he's being treated. There will be 43 weeks of chemo.
At the beginning of each round (roughly once a month) he will have a three-day stay in the hospital, to reduce George's risk of infection in the time immediately following chemotherapy, as this round reduces his white blood cell count.
Over the course of a typical month, there will also be 2-3 family trips to Tucson for outpatient treatment, and for those excursions we will be able to return home until the next round.
At the end of each month's cycle, George will have a five-day stay in the hospital, because the final round of chemo for the month reduces not only his white blood cell count, but his platlet count as well, during which time he will be receiving blood and/or plasma transfusions.
George is seven years old, and is in the second grade.
His interests include video games, such as: Minecraft, Angry Birds, Plants Versus Zombies, Star Wars, Stuart Little, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Pokemon Go!, and any game with Spider-Man in it. He's also strongly interested in oceanography, engineering, listening to music, and playing with his Legos and Thomas the Tank Engine trains.
UPDATE: 3/9/2017: Georgie has turned eight years old today. The rounds of chemo- thus far, he's gone through six- have taken their toll. Georgie's lost a bit of weight, and his medications often have him sleeping odd hours, but his spirit its strong.
His classroom has a Teddy bear that sits in with the kids.
He scored some pretty neat toys on his birthday this year!
He got a Star Wars Blade-Builder set, a real Pokeball, a few t-shirts (Including a Spider-Man one that glows in the dark) and a few of his favorite movies on dvd, TeenageMutant Ninja Turtles and Pixels.
And Mommy made Georgie a Plants vs Zombies cake!
UPDATE: MARCH 3, 2018
We've been laying low the last few months, resting up and recuperating after George gonged out of his active chemotherapy at the Chemo Clinic at the end of October. We've been blessed with a great support and medical team throughout the process, but it has been by necessity grueling for all involved, and for a time, cancer was the last thing any of us wanted to think about.
In all, he's gone through two surgeries, did 43 rounds of chemo, 28 doses of radiation, endured numerous hospitalizations and countless MRI, PET and CT scans. His MRI scans since leaving chemotherapy have shown a steady rate of tumor shrinkage and his doctors had wanted to hold off on the surgeries to minimize the facial damage from the procedure.
What we hope will be his final two surgeries have been scheduled for later this month, and George is thrilled because he'll also finally be getting his port removed, meaning he can run and play and go to P.E. like a normal kid again.
George's 9th birthday (which for a time we weren't sure of) happens a week from today- and it's his golden birthday.
We will be posting some birthday pictures and health updates as we get them. We just wanted to check in with everybody to say "Thank you" and to let you know how it's all going.