"Gnome" Place Like Home for Halloween!

Unfortunately, Caroline didn't make counts again today. She was more than happy to get bumped - now she can celebrate Halloween, Book Character Day at school, and a field trip this Friday.

Although it's not entirely unusual for her to struggle with recovery in-between cycles (especially after so many), we are at a point where her treatment going forward will most likely need to be adjusted. After consulting with Caroline's team, one of her chemotherapies (Temodar) will be dose-reduced by 25%. This is probably the drug that is hitting her too hard.

We will go back to clinic again on Monday (11/7) for lab work, and she will either be admitted for Cycle 9 of treatment if her counts are high enough, or if they aren't high enough, she will undergo a bone marrow biopsy to see if there is anything else more alarming going on ~ stay tuned next week...

Thank you for your continued prayers and support!

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Clinic Costume #2 - Twinning Gnomes - Dad and C.

Clinic Costume #1 - "Jason" getting vitals.

"Junie B. Jones" heading off to school!

Admission Delays

For the second week in a row, Caroline’s admission has been delayed because her lab work isn’t meeting the minimum blood count levels for her double chemotherapy and antibody treatment. She didn’t mind too much last week, but today she left feeling sad because getting bumped out another week means she may miss celebrating Halloween at home, if her counts are high enough to be admitted. We went through this back in 2018 — she got bumped a few weeks in a row for low counts. Most likely, her bone marrow cells are just too beat up from treatment, and struggling to recover. Other than that news today, Caroline has been feeling well and is her normal, energetic self.

It’s hard to continuously re-arrange weekly plans when this stuff happens, but we forge ahead knowing things can always be worse…

Thank You for the continued thoughts and prayers!

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong

#ftgf

Cycle 8 Complete

Caroline was discharged from Cycle 8 on Saturday, and has been doing well recovering at home (especially considering how rough the side effects hit her this round). Although Childhood Cancer Awareness month has come to an end, we appreciate your continued support and prayers during this arduous and emotional journey!

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf