Zach's Home Page

Zach went in for his one year CTscan of the chest on 10/14/08 and a lymph node in his neck was giving the doctors some concern. We had an ultrasound done and there were several shadows showing up on his thyroid as well as some enlarged lymph nodes. On 10/21/08 he had a thin needle biopsy done and by the end of the week we found out that Zach had a secondary cancer - Papillary Carcinoma of the Thyroid. He was scheduled for surgery on 11/3/08 and had his thyroid removed, along with all the lymph nodes on the right side of his neck - from the base of the skull to the collar bone. The doctors also transplanted the parathyroid glands from the right side into muscles of the neck. On 11/2108 he received a radioiodine treatment to kill any remaining thyroid/cancer cells. Thankfully, there is no chemotherapy or traditional radiation therapy required for this type of cancer. He had his body scan after the iodine treatment and it looks like he will need a second iodine treatment in June of 09. Zach will see an endocrinologist in December and be on hormone replacement therapy from then on.
Zach finished his second set of treatments on November 1st 2007 and is back in remission. His post treatment scan from November 20th was clear, he will be scanned every three months for the first year post treatment.
Zach was in remission for almost 4 years when his scans on March 27, 2007 revealed a "shadow" on his right lung. Dr. Shenoy put him at stage 2 and the cancer is localized (has not metastasized). He has embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma with some aveolar molecular structures showing up in the tumor. His tumor was in the chest cavity on the right, back side and lung and was only about 2cm (little less than an inch). He had a biopsy on the mass Monday, April 2nd and was released from the hospital 24 hours after surgery. His treatment plan consisted of 8 rounds of chemotherapy (scans after 2 rounds), surgery after they reviewed the scans (Sugery took place on May 24th, the surgeon was able to remove the tumor and surrounding tissue through the scope. We came home from the hospital on the 26th.)and radiation therapy, which started on the 13th of June, Zach received 23 treatments with the last one on July 16th. He received vincristine (a chemotherapy drug) every Tuesday while getting radiation. He started the remainder of his chemo on August 7th, and received 6 more rounds of chemo. After each chemo treatment I had to give him a daily shot of neupogin(growth factor for blood cells), he also got his blood drawn 2 times a week to check his red, white and platelet counts. Zach's spirits are high as usual and his attitude is that we will just do what we have to do. He continues to take everything in stride as we face another challenge in his battle against cancer.
The last four years in remission have been full of adventure and learning for him and he is growing and developing into a wonderful young boy.


Zach was diagnosed on October 25, 2002 with Rhabdomyosarcoma. He was Stage 4 and given a 20% chance of staying in remission once there. The doctors and I were not happy with this outcome so we decided to treat him aggressively and added Autologus Stem Cell Rescue into his treatment. This doubled his chances of staying in remission. Zach has gone through chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy and the bone marrow transplant. He has amazed the doctors in that he has not needed a single transfusion of red blood or platelets since leaving the transplant unit. He charms everyone who meets him, he is wise beyond his four years and the doctors have called him their best patient. He just takes all that comes his way in stride. He shows courage and strength beyond what could be possibly expected of him. However, he manages to still remain a child.

Journal

Wednesday, December 3, 2008 2:20 PM CST

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Looking forward to the Christmas holidays!

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Hospital Information:

St. Louis Children's Hospital
#1 Children's Plaza
St. Louis, MO 63110
314-454-6000

Links:

E-mail Author: cherries6366@att.net

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