This is Teri, (one of Carla's sisters, just in case some of you don't know!). Carla said she wrote to all of you August 27th, concerning Brad's breast cancer that has metastasized to his brain. She has really been wanting to send an update, but has been so overwhelmed with doctors, medicines, endless paperwork/reports, etc. that she has not been able to bring you up to date on the latest. So, I told her that I would be happy to give you all a brief synopsis of what has happened since she wrote to you on August 27th.
Well, Brad completed the required days of radiation, but then he began having severe back pain, which caused them to reconsider the Spain trip. As it turned out, it was such a blessing that they cancelled the trip, because Brad had a couple of falls, much more mental confusion and of course, the continued back pain. A trip to the ER for scans showed that he had additional bleeding from the tumors in the brain, and the ER doctor had some phone consultations with Brad's MD Anderson doctor, Dr. Nelson. The ER doctor gave us the grim news that there is really nothing more to be done, regarding chemo or radiation. He said that we have "fought a good fight" and it is time for Brad to move into what they call "palliative" care, meaning keeping him pain-free and having quality of life as a main concern.
Well, after weeks of scans, x-rays, ultrasounds, etc. they finally saw that Brad has a "compression fracture" in the L3 vertebrae......it could possibly be due to the chemo, but regardless, it is something that an orthopedic doctor can help by doing a procedure called "Kyphoplasty". Basically, they will insert a needle into the collapsed space, insert a balloon through the needle to inflate and cushion the vertebrae, and then "cement" the whole process.
However, before that can be done, they need to make sure that there is not an infection in the spine that is causing the swelling and pain. Brad had a staph infection in his knee after his knee surgery and it may have just stayed in his system, showing up now. So, Brad had a biopsy this morning of the swollen lumbar vertebrae in his back, and it will reveal what kind of infection, if any, that he has. In the meantime, he will go tomorrow to an Infectious Disease doctor to maybe go ahead and start some antibiotics before the results of the biopsy come back.
There are some hopes on the horizon. The MD Anderson doctor said there is a clinical trial that Brad might possibly be a candidate for, which would be downtown Houston. Tom also has a neighbor who works with a company that does "sequencing of genes", using a sample of the original tumor and finding out if there is a particular drug targeted to his particular tumor. At this point, hope is a good thing!
So, here we are, hoping to get his back corrected and pain-free, and then will pursue any avenue of a possible new drug to fight this awful disease.
Now that you are up to speed, I want to tell you that Megan started a blog to keep everyone updated in a central location. She will update the blog and you can sign up to recieve an email notification when a new entry is posted. You need to have a Google acct (free) to access the site, so just sign up if you don't have one. Here is her blog site: http://bradsbattleblog.
Well, I believe that covers the latest. We pray for Brad to be healed, and we know that God is in control of everything......our days are ordained for us before even one of them comes to be, so we rest in that! Psalm 139:16
Carla and Brad are so touched by all of the phone calls, emails, prayers, notes, cards, etc......they wanted to sincerely convey that to you. What a precious thing for them to be surrounded by a crowd of family and friends who pray for them and love them! In every possible moment, they continue to have as much family fun and laughter as can be squeezed in, making the most of precious family times. The whole Sharp/Lagoy family took Carla and Brad to McKinney Falls State Park over the weekend, even taking along the big, comfy, leather recliner that Brad sleeps in. Good times and precious memories.
Thank you all for your prayers for Brad......we are all in this together as we pull together for Brad, who we love so much!
God bless all of you,
Teri
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