Cooper's Story

On December 11, 2010 we found a lump on Cooper's hip.  We immediately took him to the Emergency Room in Pocatello.  The doctors there told us it was most likely a hematoma and we needed to come back the next day for an ultrasound.  We went in on December 12th and they performed the ultrasound and told us again it was a hematoma and to have it rechecked.  We rechecked twice in January, called in February and scheduled another recheck in March.  The doctor ordered an MRI on March 11, 2011 and we found out Cooper had a sarcoma.  We knew it was cancer but didn't know the type or if it had spread.  The doctor scheduled us to go to Primary Medical Center in Salt Lake City, UT.  On March 15th we met Cooper's oncologist and surgeon.  On March 17th the surgeon biopsied the tumor and we were told that it was definately cancer.  The week after was filled with a CT scan, PET scan and blood work to see if his cancer had spread.  On March 23rd we met with his oncologist and found that pathology had come back and his tumor is called PNET, peripheral neuroectodermal tumor.  It hasn't spread although there are a couple of areas they are watching closely.  His oncologist set up a plan for chemo and surgery to remove the tumor. We are looking at chemo every other week for 7-8 months (if he stays on track) with a surgery halfway through to remove the tumor. 

Cooper is a tough little boy who doesn't quite understand what it is going on but is going to fight to be cancer free.  The picture below is before the biopsy when we found out it was cancer for sure.  What a night.

 CYCLE 1: His first week of chemo wasn't great, he was very sick, slept a lot and didn't eat. When we went home he was feeling better but then took a turn for the worse. He quit eating and starting sleeping a lot, then developed a fever. We took him to Portneuf Medical and they admitted him for 9 days. They did a lot of blood cultures, all of which were negative.   He started losing his hair during his stay at Portneuf.  They gave him antibiotics and he soon felt better and we were able to go home. We were home for 5 days and then came back down to Salt Lake for more chemo.

CYCLE 2: This week has gone exceptionally well.  This chemo is different from the first week.  He is eating, playing, sleeping well, and feeling much better. 

We have had a lot of love and support from many friends, family and neighbors and we want to say thanks.  We appreciate you all so much and know of your sacrifices to help our family.