AFP Counts Are In…

Carter and Mom waiting for chemo at OPI

The boys eating a new staple...rice krispie treats

Well, we had our first outpatient chemo visit today. Carter did a great job! He pointed out to the nurse where to inject the chemo into his Broviac line, “Dis.” We also talked to the nurse practitioner about the amount in which we should or should not be giving Carter pain meds. For some reason, Matt and I have tried to just give him pain meds in the mid-day and evening before bed. He wakes up every morning uncomfortable though, and is pretty miserable throughout the entire morning. The nurse said there is no reason for a child to have to be in pain during this ordeal. We should be giving pain meds on an as-needed basis, and make him more comfortable. So, tomorrow we will give Carter pain meds in the morning if he seems like he has discomfort and hopefully it will make the day better for everyone!

We were so anxious to get the AFP results today. We brought it up to the nurse, and she wasn’t sure why we didn't have the results. We were determined to not leave until they were tracked down though. She came back and said the results were great. Carter’s original AFP was 270,000 (a normal count would be 1 to a very high 7), and as of last Thursday (two weeks after starting chemo) they had dropped to 59,800!! I was so happy I cried. I was hopeful they would be cut in half, and was not expecting this big drop. This is a preliminary indicator that the chemo is working!! I’m getting teary just typing it. This is all worth it. Carter is having to endure so much now, but it is all for a purpose!

“AFP is used to monitor response to therapy and to detect tumor recurrence after treatment. In one study of 31 children with primary unresectable hepatoblastoma, a large, early fall in AFP level in response to chemotherapy was the strongest independent predictor of outcome.”

Matt did his first at-home Broviac dressing change this evening. He did an awesome job, but he and I were both very nervous through the whole process. We were practically holding our breaths as we didn’t want to breathe and contaminate the site. And “cool Carter” just sat back with his hands above his head watching the whole thing. Today felt like a successful day!