Relapse

20 months after being diagnosed, 14 months into maintenance therapy, and 4 months from the end of treatment (EOT), a small number of cancerous blasts were found in the spinal fluid sample of Beaudin’s quarterly lumbar puncture.

Because the number of blasts was below the relapse threshold, chemo was administered and a follow-up LP was done one month later. With blasts present in the sample, Beaudin was diagnosed as a CNS only, late-relapse.

Post announcing his relapse:

All posts on relapse:

HuCAR T: 18 month follow-up- Half Truths and Tug of War.

I wake-up early and sneak out of the dark hotel room. I make my way to the lobby to enjoy the complimentary coffee and read my book.  If I position myself just right on the couch in the far corner I can be surrounded so completely with eclectic decor that I almost forget…

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Lemonade & Paparazzi

Our mission is to change the lives of children with cancer through funding impactful research, raising awareness, supporting families and empowering everyone to help cure childhood cancer. Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation Last fall, after our 11th or so flight to Philadelphia, I went to book another round-trip ticket for our upcoming appointment. $749. Yikes.…

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for now, we aren’t running.

We went to bed on Wednesday night resting easy. The news from our last visit was slowly starting to settle. We got the initial results the day of the appointment, but the official “all-clear” came the next afternoon, once I had emailed a casual, freaking out on the inside, email to our team…

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Clear. Colorless. Beautiful Champagne Poke.

Jude woke-up for the first time in weeks without complaint that it was morning. I laid down next to him and showed him the two small, wooden ram figurines that my friend had gifted me after relapse. “These little guys are you and Beau. You are vicious killers,” I knocked the rams horns…

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For today, an LP.

Beau is going to have an LP (lumbar puncture) this morning to sample his spinal fluid for rogue cells. I know, I know. It feels out of no where with all the “New companion!” excitement of my last post. I just had to let the ideas stand alone. Beau is in Long-term follow-up…

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Heavy is the Head

I imagine all the patients at the Believe Ball felt like royalty. Beaudin did. Each of us got to wear a “CAR T FAMILY” button, and the patients wore their own badge of honor: “CAR T PATIENT.” Multiple times throughout the evening I saw people walk up to Beaudin and shake his hand,…

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HuCART: Month 16 results or something.

All I want to do is publish this damn post. And every other damn post I’ve been (mentally) composing for weeks now. But each time I open my laptop- I write a bit and link a bit, and search around the site to link some more and inevitably find myself reading a post…

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