The surgery was a success

May 12, 2014.

The doctor came out at 2:40pm. They were having trouble doing the epidural on her and that was the reason on her surgery was prolonged. He said the surgery went well but she lost her entire lower lobe as the tumour was too close to the main vein. She is expected to be awake soon but will be staying in the recovery room for another 3-4 hours. Mama Carmen hasn't got the chance to see her yet!

Details of Surgery

May 6, 2014.

This is the newest update about Cassidy's situation:

Today, May 6th, 2014, we spoke with Dr. Gerstle and Dr. Baruchel

Dr. Gerstle is the doctor who will be performing the surgery next Monday at 8 am (May 12th, 2014). The surgery itself will be 5-6 hours long to remove the lesion near her left breast and the lesion on her lung.

While the surgery is expected to go smoothly, but there may be a few possible effects:

Cassidy may have some tissue in the breast removed.

The lower section of the lung may have to be removed because of the position of the lesion.  The ribs will be open in order to remove the tumour. This may affect Cassidy's lung capacity and as competitive swimming.

Cassidy will likely be on epidural for 3 days after the surgery, although the anesthesiologist will be consulted before finalizing that decision. There will be other painkillers available. 

Dr. Baruchel, the oncologist will give the report about removed tumours/lesions after they have been identified in the lab.  Pray that they do not contain any new cancer cells.

Cassidy's recovery period is estimated a month, although it will be some time before she reaches full capacity again. Physiotherapy has been recommended during the rehab.

Please continue to pray for the following:-
a. Pray that the peace, and comfort from God be with the family, and they will have strong faith in God.
b. May God use this time to strengthen the family, draw them closer to each other, and learn to walk deeper with God.
c. Pray that the 5~6 hours surgery next Monday to remove the tumours/lesions will be smoothly carried out and Cassidy will recover as God created.

Happy Birthday, Cassidy!!

April 29, 2014.

It's Cassidy's birthday today. Happy Birthday!! :)

She's been sick since last week for catching a cold after swimming. No more fever, thank God!

May God bless her and her family abundantly and keep her spirit strong as she has been!


Update from Mama Carmen:

Cass is still sick & cough a lot over the weekend! She couldn't join her own b-day party over the weekend & she will miss the one her class is going to surprise her for her birthday tomorrow as she us still too weak to go to school. Please pray for her to recovery from the cold soon such that she will be strong (physically & spiritually) for her surgery on the 2nd week of May. We are seeing the doctors this Thursday to discuss about the surgery & she will do the MRI as well. 

Biopsy Result and Prayer Requests

April 22, 2014.

This morning, our whole family met with an oncologist in Sickkids and we had the following discussion with the biopsy result.

1.     Cassidy fought once, she needs to fight again. She has two known lesions. One is below her chest on the left side, made of cartilage cells which is part of the osteosarcoma (bone cancer cells). It is a very rare case and only less than 5 % of such situation. The other one is on her lung, most likely made of osteosarcoma cells based on calcium deposits on her left side.

2.     Neither lesion is aggressive for the time being and both can be removed with surgery.

3.     At the present moment, no chemo is necessary if there are no new findings. The surgery on her lung will not affect the lung itself.  While we are unsure of how exactly the surgery will proceed, and we will meeting the surgeon soon to discuss about it, and the surgery will be scheduled on the 2nd week of May.

4.     The recovery and rehabilitation time is estimated to be around 1 month. A close monitor of Cassidy's health issue will be followed up in the next three years.

Furthermore, Cassidy needs to go through a bone scan tomorrow (April 23, Wednesday) at 10:00 a.m. and an MRI (not scheduled yet) of the brain to ensure there are no other tumours, lesions, or otherwise abnormal developments. There will also be a scan on her other lung as a precaution.

By the way, Cassidy was very upset when the doctor told her that she won't be able to go for her swim meets in the next couple months and not until she is totally recover from surgery. However, it's such big relief and we thank God that there's no chemo at this time.

Please continue to pray for the following,

a.     Pray that the faith, peace, and comfort from God be with the family.

b.    May God use this time to strengthen us, trust in Him, and draw us close to Him.

c.    Pray that a thorough bone scan and MRI will be carried out for Cassidy and no more lesions will be found in her body.

d.     Pray that the surgery will be smoothly carried out and Cassidy will recover very quickly such that she can continue her swimming very shortly.

Biopsy Scheduled

April 15, 2014.

Sickkids has scheduled Cassidy's Biopsy procedure tomorrow (Wednesday) at 10:30am. She will be going to the hospital at 8:30am to prepare for the procedure. Cass chose to do the procedure under the localized anaesthetic.

Please pray for the following,

1.   Cassidy has good spirit to prepare for the procedure tomorrow and the follow up arrangement required in the future.

2.   Since Cassidy is concerned about pain during the procedure, pray that the nurses and doctors will handle the procedure in a very smooth and nice way such that Cassidy will not feel much pain from it.

3,   The doctors have the wisdom to actually diagnose the problem and provide the best treatment for Cassidy.

4.    After all, pray that we all have the patience, trust and faith to just follow Him step by step, one day at a time. Teach us to lean on Him in all situations.

By the way, just to clarify the areas at which the lump and calcium deposits were noticed.

1.   The lump was notice at the left side of the body, rather than at the left chest as previously described.

2.   The calcium deposits were noticed in the right lung, rather the left lung as was described before.

Possibly Secondary Cancer from the Osteosarcoma

April 14, 2014.

Here is an update from Carmen:

"We are still in Sickkids, & my heart sunk after after the discussion with the doctors! They found that there's some calcium deposits which would be from her leg ( osteosarcoma) and the lump Cass's chest is something superficial (it might come from her leg's disease). She may has secondary cancer from the osteosarcoma. They are arranging the biopsy to find out more. But treatments & surgery will be arranged after, as they have to remove them from her body!"

Please pray fervently for Cassidy and her family.

Again, please let them have quiet time. If you want to send them message, please tell them "no need to reply" so they can know you're supporting them with prayers yet no need to worry about replying your messages.