Delayed intensification will start tomorrow.

Tomorrow marks the start of the toughest chemo phase in the whole protocol.  It lasts 8 weeks if there's no delay.  The clinic schedule for this week looks like this:

Tuesday: clinic visit, CBC, weight, height and other routine exams.  Then VinCRIStine and DOXOrubicin IV push.

Wednesday: Fasting for general anesthesia.  Lumbar puncture with intrathecal Methotrexate.

Friday: Pegaspargase, IV over 1-2 hours.

Lucas will also take Dexamethasone twice a day, every day for the first week.

Lucas has been eating well and slowly gaining weight.  He looks good and is almost as active as he was before.  We are pretty sure he will make the cut to start chemo tomorrow (ANC > 750 and platelets counts > 75).

Last High Dose Methotrexate

Lucas started his last scheduled hospital stay on Tuesday morning and he cleared to start chemo 5:45pm.   Jianwei took time off for 3 days to stay with him in the hospital.  I get off work a little early and take Alex to visit them in the evenings.  I miss Lucas a lot but surely also enjoy the special moments with Alex.  Both of them have been great sweet boys.  Lucas is very used to hospital setting now and is known to enjoy flirting with young nurses on the floor.  Jianwei doesn't like to have too much TV time for the kids so Lucas were out playing all the time -- digging through every single toy in the play room and doing their rounds on the floor.  His 24 hour number for MTX blood level was 23.  We will have the 42 and 48 hour number 11:45am and 5:45pm today.  Hopefully Lucan can come home tomorrow morning.