Round 17/Round 2

It seems fitting that we ended 2025 where we spent so much of it - checked in at Hotel SCH. It meant a lot to us that our team prioritized Charlotte's mental health before getting Round 2 of the new regimen underway. We took full advantage of our time off! We saw family, friends, and even spent a few nights unplugged from tube feeds. Charlotte declares it was the best sleep she'd had in months.

We'll be here until Sunday, when her fifth dose ends. As of this moment, she has completed two doses and is getting the 16-hour infusion of Mesna, the bladder protectant. Charlotte, once again, is tolerating all of these medications well. She is tired, but no complaints of pain or nausea. We'll take whatever victories we can get.

The original plan was to take updated scans after this round of chemo, but we are learning this is a puzzle we have to piece together at just the right time. At the completion of each round, at least with this regimen and with the cisplatin/doxorubicin combination, Charlotte receives a neulasta injection. This injection stimulates the bone marrow to produce more neutrophils, a type of white blood cell needed to fight infection. This helps ensure we don't have any unexpected admissions for neutropenia. (Dr. Lauren is holding for applause.)

ANYWAY... taking the scans soon after the neulasta injection would most likely light up everything, hiding the specific areas we actually want to be looking at. Additionally, Charlotte's recent radiation could also play a part in the results of the scan. Our team has also mentioned that determining the appropriate scan to use for a solid tumor patient is tricky. We're looking for very tiny spots! (A nice reminder to ourselves.) A full body MRI won't show us what we need, while a PET scan may not be enough. Sadly, there aren't other locations around with any better technology.

So our plan is to finish this admission and take our three week break from chemo. We'll have labs, PT and a much-needed visit with Dr. Jesse. (When can we ditch these crutches, bro?!) We'll begin a third round of ifosfamide/etoposide and then take a PET scan before the neulasta injection. The hope is we'll be far enough removed from radiation to eliminate that from playing any role in the scan results.

It was hard getting through the holidays knowing that was the original finish line. It can be so easy to feel sorry for ourselves and live in a state of sadness. I am approaching 2026 with caution, but it's got to be better than last year, right?!