Chantel's is officially in remission!




I took Chantel up to Whistler to celebrate for a couple of days post her final chemo (we did not know at that time that she would be done treatment for now).

Chantel had her chemo session on September 7th. She had a CT scan the following week and a PET scan last Friday. We received the news from her Doctor yesterday that she will not need to do any radiation therapy as the chemo appears to have done the trick.

Chantel is feeling much better (the chemo was really wearing her out the last few sessions) and her hair is slowly coming back. She wants to thank everyone for all of your support and prayers! She really felt the energy and it kept her (and myself) up during some pretty scary days.

Thanks to all of you again! I am overwhelmed by the generousity, compassion, and warmth from all of you!

WBC Count still down

Chantel had her chemo session on Tuesday. Her bloodwork came back and her white blood cell count is still down so we are going to the hospital today to start the drug regiman to get her granulocytes back up. Chantel and I are going to the hospital this afternoon to get her first injection and they will show both of us how to do it going forward as she will need to take 5 shots leading up to each subsequent chemo session. So if I ever become a herion addict or get diabetes, I will be ready to use a needle ;-)

Chantel's chemo delayed due to low white blood cell counts

Chantel's chemo has been postponed 3 times this week hoping that her WBC count will increase. It seems that her granulocytes have not recovered as quickly as she needs to continue chemo. If it does not recover enough by Monday, she will have to start on a drug regimen to increase her WBC up. She needs to get her WBC count up to ensure she does not get an infection. Filgrastim costs $1,000 per dose and will have to be taken a few days prior to each treatment and may need to be used until the end of her treatment.

Caius shaved his head for Mother's Day for Chantel

Caius approached me a few days prior to Mother's Day and said he wanted to shave his head to support Chantel during her chemo. Here is a photo of Chantel and Caius.




Here is a recent photo of Marcus. He is doing really well. His current stats are 24.5" in length and 11lbs in weight. He is pretty happy and I better get snipped quick or Chantel will have me trying to get her pregnant again when the time is right ;-)

Chantel's hair is leaving the domicile!

Sorry for the delay getting this next post up... We are all doing well but sleeping less with Marcus reminding us of the 'fun' of late-night chats... ;-)

Chantel finished her 4th round of chemo yesterday. She experienced nausea for the first time and looked a little green around the gills between 11pm and 2am. She is feeling fine today.

Her hair is falling out but she is lucky that it is so thick. She had it cut last weekend so it is a cute "peter pan" doo. Her new cut makes her eyes look amazing but it is a little scary kissing a girl with hair closer to kd lang... ;-)

I will upload some photos of Chantel's new haircut this weekend.

Chantel's FUN week... is done!

Quick update on Chantel's week.

CT Scan showed that Hodgkins had not spread below her diaphragm... this means she is still Stage 2A for her diagnosis. Dr. Savage gave outlined her prognosis at 85-90% of no recurrance of the cancer for 5 years post her treatment. She has put Chantel on a 6 month regimen of ABVD (Chemo).

On Tuesday, Chantel had her first round of Chemo. We had acquired 3 anti-nausea drugs (one of which costs over $20 per pill). The first chemo session was interesting. Neither of us have had a family member who had cancer so we were a little in the dark about how it was all going to take place. She was put in a room with 3 other "IV junkies" and given a very thorough explanation about the drugs, their effects, and her symptoms post session. The B and V drugs are very harsh on cellular tissue and had to be manually injected into the IV to ensure that it didn't overwhelm the IV site and cause significant damage to tissue. The second two were added to the IV mix and put on auto drip. The first 3 drugs only required 45 minutes but the last one took 1-1/2 hours. Afterwards, we left, grabbed a bite to eat and then headed home. We had Marcus with us the entire time and he was fine.

One bizarre thing was how I half expected to find that Chantel would wither in front of me from the drugs. She was surprisingly (to me) strong and felt fine. The nurse had warned us that nausea could spring in the next 24-48 hours. That night Chantel went to bed and I took care of the baby and slept on the couch so I wouldn't disturb her if the baby cried, etc. We had set her alarm for 2am to take another round of anti-nausea pills but she shut if off during the night. She woke up at 4am when I was changing the baby and felt totally fine. I had her take her pills and go back to bed. Chantel did not have any nausea during Round 1! Hurray!

On Wednesday, Chantel had a Nuclear Medicine Scan. This was done because the CT Scan showed that her liver nodule looked more like it was due to the pregnancy rather than Hodgkins or some other liver ailment. Dr. Scudamore got a rush test done and reviewed the image that day and then called us to advise us that Chantel would not have to have surgery on Thursday. He concurred with the CT Scan results and believes that the liver nodule was pregnancy induced and would return to normal on its own. Wow - the good news just keeps piling on!

By Wednesday, we had run out of Chantel's expressed breast milk and the milk we received from the milk bank. We put Marcus on formula which was really hard for Chantel. She was pretty upset about not being able to continue breastfeeding. She definitely had enough milk (I think her breasts had tripled in size). Marcus is fine and he seems to really enjoy the formula as well. Although it has been two days since his last bowel movement :-(

Looking forward, Chantel will be feeling weaker over the next few days as her red/white blood cells and platelets continue to deplete. Around Thursday/Friday/Saturday, she will be at her weakest and then she will begin to recover in time for her next chemo session the following week.

Activities for the week of March 27th...

Monday - CT Scan (CAT Scan of the body). This is the procedure we have been waiting for to make the final staging on Chantel's Hodgkins. With the info from this procedure, the Bone Marrow Biopsy to be completed tomorrow and some additional bloodwork, Dr. Savage will be able to firmly diagnose Chantel and determine the timeline of treatment.

Tuesday - CHEMO Round #1. Chantel will be starting her first treatment on ABVD (a nice toxic stew that they dump in you). She will find out later in the week how many of these treatments she will receive based on the results of the staging from Monday. Typically, Hodgkins patients have 6 months of chemo [6 cycles of treatment (2 treatments per cycle for a total of 12 treatments)] and sometimes followed up with radiation. We will know later in the week what the final plan will be.

Tuesday - Bone Marrow Biopsy. Chantel will be undergoing a biopsy on her bone marrow to see if that area has been compromised as well.

Wednesday - hey, its been a rough week so far... take some time with your newborn ;-)

Thursday - Laparoscopy. Dr. Scudamore will be doing a little scouting around in Chantel's abdomen to see if the large mass on her liver is benign or not. This is not too onerous an operation but Chantel's body will be weakened from the chemo, the C-Section, taking care of the baby and her lowered immunity to infection (caused by the chemo on Tuesday).

That will be it for this week. I promise that I will get Chantel to type something... I am beginning to realize that she is the BOSS. I really thought I was in charge for a while ;-)

Marcus Anthony Baggio is alive and kicking...




... well maybe not right at this minute - more like sleepy and subdued!


Born at 11:28am on Wednesday, March 22nd (he was at 37.5 weeks). He weighed in at 6 lbs. and 10oz. He was 20 - 1/4" tall. He has my nose/mouth/chin and Chantel's neck and dimple on his tailbone. He has been quite quiet and is enjoying this one week of breastfeeding. He has a mild case of jaundice and should be coming home from the hospital tomorrow.

Chantel is doing fine. This is the first GREAT NEWS we have had in the past 3 months. The birth (had to be done C-Section because Doctors are concerned that vaginal delivery would put onerous stress on her liver) was simple and easy and she is healing fast. Chantel's milk dropped early and she is breastfeeding until Tuesday when she starts her first round of chemo for the Hodgkins.

Chantel did have a case of PUPPP aggravate her over the last two weeks leading up to the birth but it has subsided. PUPPP happens in 1 out of every 3-400 initial pregnancies (figures that Chantel would find something else to cause her more grief). It is a highly itchy dermatosis. She looked like she had an extreme form of poison oak and was in a pretty aggravated state. It has already calmed down.

Chantel's Caesarian Confirmed

March 22nd @ 11am in BC Woman's Hospital

We are getting closer to the date the 3 Doctors determined that would meet all of their needs, the baby's and Chantel's. We will find out on Monday about the chemo regiman from Dr. Savage as that is the next phase for Chantel. She will likely start on chemo within a few days of the birth depending on how quickly she is healing from the Caesarian.