Jack to Normal

Buckle up…it’s a long one, friends!

So, despite the prediction of crusty winter weather yesterday, the Randles loaded up & made a trek to STL for labs, an oncology visit & a possible 5-hour transfusion.  For those of you lucky enough not to be in The Lou yesterday, Mother Nature did not go easy on folks up there!  Our last 30 minutes to BJC took around an hour, but we got there.  Jack got his labs & we headed for the oncology offices.  Our fingers were tightly crossed that we could avoid the transfusion marathon that was possible.  When we met with his Nurse Practitioner,  we learned that he’d knocked it out of the park with his labs (described as “great”), and no transfusion would be needed. 

The good news just kept coming when she shared that the results of his most recent ClonaSEQ (testing used to identify how much, if any, cancer remains in his body) were also “great”.   From his last bone marrow biopsy, they found only 2 cancer cells in the 1.9 million cells they analyzed.  I’m no oncology math genius, but that seems pretty damn good!  All indicators of minimal residual disease (MRD-AKA the standard we hope to achieve) are pointing towards recovery.  We also learned that there’s not just remission (which is good), but there’s also deep remission, which is where we want to end this journey.  In order to get there, we learned that he’ll undergo 8 total rounds of chemo.  So, for those of you playing along, that’s 5 more rounds.  We admit to BJC on the 20th for round 4.  Then we have 3 weeks off before Jack goes back in March for round 5.  Not what we hoped for (we imagined 4 rounds & done), but again, it’s a marathon.

Last, we discussed the potential for a bone marrow transplant (BMT).  We knew the process was already underway to find a donor in an effort to be proactive.  Again, we got the best possible news that multiple matching donors exist.  Now, it’s an effort to find the best possible donor.  We had assumed that BMT was a treatment of last resort, but learned that this treatment option may need to be implemented to ensure deep remission.  If they choose this route, he’ll be admitted for approximately 3-5 weeks.  The BMT is completed by infusing the new donor cells through his port (much less invasive than wed imagined).  Once that’s done, he’ll require anti-rejection meds for at least 6 mos. & will have weekly oncology visits for about 3 months.  So, Cliff Notes version for my fellow ADD friends, things are looking “great” and we’ll just keep running.  We may not be able to see the finish line just yet, but we know we’ll get there!  Thanks to so many for your love & support.  It’s going to carry us through this journey!

Much Love,

Rich, Meg & Jack