Another inconclusive result...okay, marginally more conclusive, but still shy of definitive, with a touch of unknowable, and a dash of Hmmmm....

The CT scan scheduled for 7 am, with a stat read by the radiologist turned into a CT at 10 and so many emergencies that the radiologist couldn't get to it until the afternoon. Dr. Grana ended up looking at the scans herself after we were still sitting in the clinic waiting at 12:30 (= really long morning for a 2 year old woken up at 5 am to start the whole process.)
So, here's Dr. Grana's synopsis: the jump in the AFP was not consistent with tumor growth; it would be a much higher number if it were recurring. The last AFP came back at 11.2, so it came down from the week before. From there, a lot of possibilities: calibration error(?!), Dante's natural AFP could be higher than the range, and/or possibly still a small amount of tumor left. The CT results showed that there's one small spot in the lungs, but that is most likely scarring, or Dante not taking a deep enough breath before going under. The only other spot still showing is in the groin area where they did the initial biopsy. The problem is that the CT can't reveal whether it's scar tissue or tumor. So much for the advent of technology...

Dr. Kerr contacted 2 specialists in Germ Cell tumors and one advised to just watch the AFP, the other advised that we do surgery to make sure that the spot in the groin is not cancerous. Dr. Grana thinks that it's a good idea to go with the surgery to eliminate any doubts. The surgery would be very similar to the one he had before, but a bigger incision to get around the one that he already has. They would take sections from all the lymph nodes in that area just to make sure. In the meantime, they took another AFP to see where that's heading.

We are contemplating the options and will discuss more with Dr. Grana when the next AFP comes back. We are breathing a big sigh of relief anyway, because all signs indicate that even if he still has any cancerous cells, it's very limited.

We took both kids in for checkups at the pediatrician this week. Carina's 6 month appointment went smoothly, even with 5 shots. Of course, this was before she got the blackeye from trying to stand up, yes, stand up, on a new toy she got. Dr. Patranella laid it on the line and told me just to let her cry at night so that Chris and I could get some sanity back in our lives. We have had to a couple of times, but she is just ready to party around 9 pm! Hopefully, I will see a good night's sleep soon.

Dante was always at very high percentiles in weight as an infant - 99th for a while and then down to 75th. He is now at the 25th percentile, which was a big cause for concern for Dr. P. He has technically only lost 3 pounds, but he hasn't gained any weight since his first birthday. She told us to start putting butter and cream on everything and to try some supplement drinks. The problem is that he won't touch those things, so we will be trying to add as many calories as possible. He is still vomiting on a daily basis and sometimes more than once. In describing when this happens, Dr. P thinks it's an acid/gastritis issue, so he's on Zantac now. Hopefully, once that kicks in he will start to feel better. In the meantime, most mornings still start with grabbing the "yucky bucket". I told her that we were having issues with behavior and we aren't sure if the cause was Dante being 2, having a new sibling, constant doctor visits or what. She said that it was probably all of those, but mostly that his stomach hurts. Imagine how you feel when your stomach hurts for a long time, are you in a good mood?

He was actually in a pretty good mood this weekend, until bedtime of course! but that's another story...