Friday, December 12, 2008

Drum Roll Please.....

Well the results are in. Looks like Brent has Ewing's Sarcoma. Ewing's is a type of bone cancer that is typically found in male Caucasian teenagers. This bone tumor usually grows in the pelvis, ribs, femur, fibula, and/or tibia. It is highly invasive and metastases are common, especially in the lungs and skeleton; which is interesting to learn because when the doctors looked at Brent's CT scan they found a small spot in his lung. It hasn't been tested yet so we don't know if that spot is also malignant. The tumor is in the fibula, and also around the outside of the bone. It is about the size of a clementine. His orthopaedic surgeon told us that treatment would involve 4-6 months of chemo, then surgery to remove the mass after it has shrunk down, and then 4-6 more months of chemo. He will lose his hair and be sick quite a bit, so we aren't looking forward to that. We are going to meet with a few different oncologists next week to see what they say, and when he will start the chemo. We are grateful for all the love and support, and ask that you continue to keep him in your prayers as we start on this journey.

Friday, December 5, 2008

Don't drink the water!!

This is our first post!! We have officially given in to the blog world. Please remember that it is a work in progress and I haven't learned how to do everything yet.

Apparently there must be something in our water. I think we have been dubbed the world's youngest couple with cancer. Our first cancer encounter was back in July when I received a call at 7:00 in the morning and was told to come to the dr's office and bring my husband. When they tell you to bring your husband, it's probably something serious. Turns out I had skin cancer, and needed surgery from it. Everything worked out fine and I was left with a pretty big scar. When I went back in November, they found 2 more cancerous moles that need to be surgically removed. So in January I will have 2 seperate surgeries to take care of that. Now on to Brent, who is the main concern. Eight months ago, his leg started bothering him when he would go running or play any sports. Just recently the pain has escalated. He can't sleep most nights and lately has not been able to sit for long periods of time. In the last few weeks his leg has gotten really swollen.

Photobucket
It's the leg on the left, and it's swollen on the outside under the knee. One good thing is that his right leg now looks muscular.

So he went to a sports medicine doctor and did physical therapy, with no relief. After that, we thought it was a nerve problem so he went to the nuerologist. To make things short, we finally found some great doctors who did an MRI and found a good size mass in his leg and some abnormalities in his bone. From looking at the MRI, the doctors believe it is cancerous. At the moment, we are waiting on an opening for a biopsy. They also did a CT scan and found another spot in his lung but that one doesn't look cancerous. There is a chance that when they do the biopsy, it may come back as benign, but we are trying to be prepared for anything and everything. Either way, the mass must come out and his nerve will probably be worthless after all this. The drs say he won't be able to do much physical activity after all is said and done.. which if you know Brent, is heart breaking since he loves exercising and playing sports *not that you could tell by his LARGE muscles :) * We are trying to stay optimistic at the moment and hope for the best. I am not writing this to get anyone's pity or sympathy, Brent would just like everyone to know in hopes that you would pray for him. We are so grateful for the love and support from all of our friends and family. We love you all!! I will try to keep the blog updated with anything we find out.

PS...we are all fasting for him on Sunday if anyone wants to add him to their list.