Initial Post

I've set up this page for anyone who wants to get updates on my dad's treatment. Here's what we know at this point:

The diagnosis is Acute Monocytic Leukemia, which is also classified as Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Subtype M5. American Cancer Society’s webpage (cancer.org) has some good information if you want to check it out.

Dad’s going to be at UM Medical Center for at least a month. This is day 5 of 7 for intravenous chemotherapy. So far he hasn't any terrible side effects yet. He seemed to be feeling better and looked a lot better to me when I saw him yesterday compared to when I visited two days prior.

My sister, Niccole, and her family have been visiting daily. My brother, Andy, was able to delay his deployment to Iraq for a week to visit also. He is a nurse, so we are glad to have him here to answer our questions. Andy's wife, Lisa, and their daughter, Abby, are traveling on Thursday to visit, also. My other brother, Matt, and his family will be up to visit by the end of the week, too.

My dad is in a private room now and they have to take some precautions because the chemo weakens his immune system. After the seven days of intensive chemo they’ll monitor him constantly. Success in this phase of the treatment would mean that they don’t see cancer cells in his blood marrow or blood work two weeks after the chemo starts. At that point, the cancer can still come back, so they will do follow up chemo treatments to prevent this. The exact treatment is going to depend on how he responds and the further testing that they’re doing right now.

My mom seems to be doing ok. It has been an information overload, and it all happened very fast. We appreciate all of the calls and concern that everyone has shown. Feel free to pass this information on to anyone who might want to see it.