Hauna

Well, some of you know that Hauna's last week has been miserable. After the biopsy results came back, confirming that the tumor is indeed malignant (rapid growing germ cell/yolk sac tumor), the oncologist started her on high-dose chemotherapy. Hauna will undergo two cycles, which total 21 days each. The first five days, she receives chemo, then day 6-16 she has nausea/vomiting/decreased blood cell counts, etc. etc. Then, days 17-21 are supposed to be when her system starts building itself up again enabling the chemo to be administered again. After the second cycle, Hauna will have another scan to see if the mets in her lung are gone and if the tumor has shrunk. If that has happened, they will allow her system to recover and then they will remove the tumor. If these things have not happened, she will undergo two more cycles of chemo (she can have up to as many as eight cycles). She started chemo last Friday and has finished her first "5-day round". It was terrible as expected. She has had severe vomiting and due to that she has had to have an NG (naso-gastric) tube to feed her. Unfortunately, she has not been able to keep that down and tonight they were going to sedate her and place an NJ (naso-jejunum) tube that will place the food right into her small intestine, by-passing her stomach and hopefully reducing her nausea/vomiting. Of course there are long-term side effects from the Cisplatin (chemo). There is an 80% chance that Hauna will lose her hearing and perhaps not develop speech because she has not had enough opportunity to learn the sounds to help her develop words etc. If she stays cancer free for 5 or more years after the tumor is removed and the mets to her lung have been destroyed, she has an 80% chance of survival/no reacurrance of the cancer. Maybe, if the NJ tube is a success, Hauna will be able to come home next week and receive the second cycle of chemo here. God willing. We will see what happens.
-Per Deney Windley, Hauna's Aunt.