Adjusting the Defense

So, after removing the kidney with the mass, removing an ovary and shipping it off to Pennsylvania, inserting a port, and working with literally an entire team of doctors, nurses, and other experts to determine the best way were are going to beat this Stage 3 Wilms Tumor, we have to modify the original game plan. Frustrating is the NICE word I will use to describe my emotions about this development. It’s like when you’re studying film for a tough opponent. You watch film after film, dissect and determine the best way to dominate them defensively is playing in a zone. That other team doesn’t really have any great outside shooters, they are more dangerous from inside the paint than outside the three-point line. Game time comes and there was apparently a move-in you had no clue about who can shoot lights out. You obviously now have to make adjustments to the way you’re going to control the defensive end of the court.

One of the many strategies Ca Shan and I elected to participate in was a research study when it was offered to us, now we are adjusting our defense. Instead of “favorable histology” which is sophisticated medical terminology for having a better prognosis. Basically, this whole circumstance is better if we have favorable histology. Wilms tumors are not common in 15-year-olds, but instead are most prevalent in 3 to 4-year-olds. We figured if the country’s best doctors whose specialty is Wilms tumors was looking at Khloe’s case and working with our team of experts, we would get the best outcome. Today, we were informed that the expert pathologist in the research study examined the slides and disagreed with the initial diagnosis. This pathologist established that Khloe’s case is diffuse anaplasia. Again, additional complex medical jargon, but the difference is that the favorable histology is focused and well-contained within a single region of the tumor, and diffuse anaplasia is found in multiple regions of the tumor as well as outside the renal parenchyma.

Now our opponent is Stage 3 diffuse anaplasia Wilms tumor. This means that cancer was found in areas near the kidney and cannot be completely removed with surgery alone. The tumor may have spread to nearby organs and blood vessels or throughout the abdomen. Therefore we must engage defensively in a scheme beyond merely removing the cancer surgically. And initially, we planned on that; 7 days of radiation plus 25 weeks of 3 chemotherapy drugs-that was our zone defense that has to be scrapped now that we have to focus on the “move-in”.

We have half of the plan as of this moment. We have to add more intense chemotherapy drugs which will include nights in the hospital which I think was one of the biggest blows to Khloe. Additionally, the length of time in which she will have to endure chemo has been extended to 42 weeks, almost twice as long as initially planned. And to top that off more radiation. We don’t know exactly how much longer until after our next appointment.

Khloe’s disappointment with this news is extremely high. Physically, she is tired and weak from the surgeries, the drugs, the doctor visits. Emotionally and mentally she is drained from learning all of this. She was just able to wrap her mind around timing, and when things could potentially be normal again. And just like that life threw her another curveball. Don’t get me wrong, she is going to beat this opponent without a doubt. So we will change the game plan and adjust the defense to get the W.