Brooke had her first set of scans done yesterday before beginning round 3 of chemo. To start she has 3 tumors in her back off of her scapula and underneath her scapula to her chest wall. It has moved three of her ribs in her back and grown in between them. The tumor that the surgeon was least concerned with as far as removing was the one growing off her shoulder blade. The scans showed that this tumor reduced in size by about 50%. Praise Jesus! They are more concerned from a surgical standpoint about the other tumors that are under her shoulder blade and in her back ribs. These tumors will be more difficult to remove and the surgeon needs for these to shrink back so that the surgery can be less invasive. The scans showed that on the current regimen the tumors did not shrink however they did not grow when they were growing at a fast rate before. The medical oncologist was expecting for all three tumors to have significant shrinkage and that did not happen. The next step is adding in an additional drug that has shown good results on sarcomas in clinical trials. They have submitted for insurance approval for this medication. We have been told that it sometimes takes longer to get this medication approved since it cost about $15,000 per month for her to be on it. She started round 3 of chemo this morning and she will do two rounds of chemo with the added drug mentioned above then they will scan her again for progress after these two rounds then make a decision on radiation. We were told that the reason they are not starting radiation now is because radiation works by burning the tumors away and it makes it more difficult for the surgeon to go in after to remove the tumors so ideally they like the results chemo produces instead. If and when she begins radiation we will be in Houston for her to get radiation every day for 6 weeks. The radiation machines here are far more advanced here than any where else which results in less overall radiation throughout her body.

We are asking for everyone to continue praying for Brooke and for her healing and restoration.

Specific prayer request:

1. For the insurance company to approve the addition of the new drug to her chemo regimen asap

2. For all three tumors to show significant shrinkage away from her chest wall out of her ribs

3. For side effects to be minimal and manageable

4. For the tumors to remain isolated and out of her bones and any other area of her body

With all that being said we are thankful and grateful to our Lord for continuously being with us during every season of our lives. We cannot imagine going through this journey without our Savior and the peace that only comes from Him alone.