On September 28th, Ollie began to whimper while going potty. Miah took him to the pediatrician who then referred him to a pediatric urology specialist. The following Tuesday, after an ultrasound, a CT scan was ordered and a very large mass was discovered that appears to be emanating from his prostate which is pressing on his bladder. A catheter was immediately inserted and Ollie was admitted to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. After a long, painful and restless night, Ollie's mass was biopsied and it was determined to be embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma. This cancer that affects young children most often is only diagnosed in 350 patients per year in the US.
The great news was that the PET scan and bone marrow samples came back showing no other signs of cancer throughout his body.
He had a surgery Friday to insert a Cath port in his chest and they began the first round of chemotherapy Friday evening. Ollie will undergo chemotherapy once a week most likely for the next 9 months (radiation treatments are also a possibility), or until the tumor gets small enough that the surgeons feel they can safely remove it.
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