ONE YEAR!!

Charlotte is one year cancer free.  As I type these words, I find myself overcome with emotion. A great deal of relief, but so much more than relief.  So much more than words are capable of expressing. There are so many days now that we live without even thinking about that evil little word—cancer.  However, without fail, every three months, that word has been a frequent reminder of all the things Charlotte has been through.  That word that stopped us completely in our tracks a year and a half ago.  That word that brought me scanxiety every three months.  Now with her being one year cancer free, our lives are changed once again, but this time, it’s for the better.  We now only have to receive scans every six months.

            A few updates on the information that we did receive from her scans:  there is still no evidence of disease anywhere in her body.  Her Echo shows that she still has an open PFO (patent foramen ovale), which from our previous understanding, means that it will stay open.  Some children born with PFOs do see it eventually close, however that will probably not be the case with Charlotte.  The doctors are not concerned with her open PFO. Around 25% of the population is estimated to have an open PFO.  Charlotte also still has her Bicuspid Aortic Valve as well.  The doctors will continue to follow and monitor this.  They have no concerns about this defect at this time because this is typically a condition that will need to be addressed in her 3^rd to 4^th decade of life.    Her clinic appointments are now every-other month.  We are moving to a life of more normalcy for her…for us.  She is truly a warrior, and we are so inspired by her.  We would like to thank all of you for your prayers and support.  We couldn’t have done it without y’all!

    

9 Month Scans

Charlotte is 9 months cancer free!! Those words are a huge triumph. I still can’t believe it!  It sometimes feels like another lifetime ago when she was diagnosed, yet sometimes it still feels as fresh as yesterday. 

Due to being cancer free, Charlotte was able to have only a CT scan this round, so no MIBG this time. Charlotte had her CT scan on August 3rd, and she did it all without any sedation. She was not a fan of the CT machine. I forgot to bring her pacifier with me, and she was not happy about it. They had her strapped down nice and tight. However, our little fighter with no surprise, wiggled her arm free to wave and try and hold on to me. She is ridiculous. I love her. 

Her next round of scans will be in November. This will be a year since her end of treatment scans. She will have a huge battery of tests during this round — another MIBG, CT, echo, hearing battery and lots of blood work. If all these tests come back negative, and the doctors like how Charlotte is doing, we will go to only CT scans and those scans will be every 6 months instead of every 3 months. This will be huge!

Just a reminder that September is Childhood Cancer awareness month.  Be prepared to see lots of post in support of more funding and awareness of Childhood Cancer :)

Port Removal

     After almost 11 months Charlotte is officially port free.  Charlotte had surgery today and it was a huge success and her port was removed with no complications.  The port was the little bump underneath her skin on her right shoulder that was used for all of her medicine and chemo administration. With the port being removed, she no longer has to go straight to the ER if she starts to get a fever and she no longer has to have pokes while at her clinic appointments. 

   Charlotte will continue to go to her clinic appointments every month and have scans every three months.  In February she had her first round of three month scans and she was still cancer free.  Her next round of scans will be in May.  We cannot thank you enough for all of your prayers!  God is so good!

"Cancer is an ugly word with a scary meaning, but you kicked ass and are brave and awesome and fought it with your super powers".


#CharlotteStrong
#CharlotteCancer Conquerer

This is the port that was under her skin