June 13, 2009

(The news that I am about to post will come as a shock to most of you who we have not had the opportunity to call personally.)

Hi Everyone. Andrew and I have decided to start this blog for our friends and family to track Andrew's progress with his treatments. On June 11, 2009, Andrew was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma / Peripheral Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumours (PNET). For those of you who don't know what Ewing's/PNET is, please allow me to explain:

Ewing's sarcoma / Peripheral Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumours (PNET) of bone is a type of cancer usually found in children and young adults. The peak incidence is between ages 10 and 20, it is less common in children under 5 or in adults over 30. Ewing's s can occur in any bone in the body; the most common sites are the pelvis, thigh, lower leg, upper arm, and rib. The tumor is composed of small round blue cells. Ewing's sarcoma can also arise in soft tissue (extra-skeletal).
There are different stages of PNET/Ewing's. Andrew's cancer is localized in his hip.
So I am guessing that most of you are asking yourself the same question -- How did this happen? Some of you may remember back to October 2008, Andrew began to complain about a dull pain in his left hip. After returning from his firm's annual golf trip with the pain still continuing, he went to see an Orthopedic surgeon to discuss his situation. But by the time of the appointment, the symptoms had subsided and he was feeling better. This went on and on with several more visits to the doctor until about the April time frame. In April, after the doctor had exhausted all of his options of what it may be, he recommended that Andrew see a specialists who dealt with nerves. The nerve doctor prescribed a special pelvic MRI for Andrew so that she could see all of the nerves in his back/hip region. After review of the MRI by both of his doctors, we were recommended to Dr. Felice, our Oncologist, for an appointment the following day.
Dr. Felice and his staff wasted no time scheduling bone scans, more x-rays and other tests for Andrew the same day. By this time it was mid-May. It was determined that Andrew had some abnormalities and pockets of fluid in his hip. After seeing a special Orthopedic Oncologist who confirmed the abnormalities, a biopsy was scheduled for June 3. The biopsy was done at Reston Hospital and sent to Johns Hopkins University Hospital for the final diagnosis. On June 11, 2009, Dr. Felice met with Andrew, his parents and I to discuss the finding of the Small Blue Cell Tumors that are in Andrew's hip and the course of treatment from here.
Andrew will be having a Cath-port installed in his chest wall on Monday June 15, where the Chemo will be administered. On Tuesday June 16, we will all be traveling to Johns Hopkins to meet with Dr. Thornton, a Sarcoma Specialist, to discuss the treatment options for Andrew.
Andrew and I are well aware that this news may come as a complete shock to most of you -- as it has to us and our families. We are also well aware that some of you may not know what to say to us or how to help. Please know that it is ok not to know what to say.
We hope that with this site we can let you know Andrew's progress, post recent pictures and receive notes for Andrew to read. It is important to keep our spirits high during this time and remain positive and open to all treatment options available to us. We appreciate any and all support and encouragment.
Until next time ......