Q & A

Q. When will you find out what is going on with Lilly?

A. Our follow up appointment with the specialist is on March 18th, we will be going over Lilly most recent blood test results. We may not have an answer as to what is going on, but should have some ideas of what it isn't and then make plans for what we will be doing next, maybe the biopsy or a full extraction of the mass/ lump in her neck.

Q. What are the Doctors testing for?

A. We were over loaded with information and didn't retain all of what the doctor said, we know 1 is auto immune, but seriously can remember all the other things they are testing for, sorry!

Q. Why wait on the biopsy?

A. The doctors need to rule out things that it might be first before jumping in and doing a biopsy. I also recently learned that if leukemia is hiding in the mass/ lump then doing a biopsy can actually cause the cancer cells to leak out. So if they find nothing in her blood work that indicate it's something other then leukemia then the chances are they will remove the lump instead of a biopsy. They might do a biopsy if they think it's something else and need to figure out what it is and how to treat it.

Q. What test have you had done and what are the results?

A. We have had 3 blood test done and one ultrasound done of the mass/lump. I only have copies of the very first blood test and ultrasound. The blood test results showed she is anemic and has a lot of bands in her blood, this was why we got referred to the hematologist oncologist because it was signs of something serious. The ultra sound told us how big the mass/ lump is, but not much else.

Q. Have you tried eliminating food from her diet or changing what she eats?

A. David and I changed the family's diet about a year ago, we eat organic foods, we removed milk and replaced it with Almond milk, most dairy is gone except for yogurt sometimes and some cheese once and while, we have some cereal and Lilly loves pasta an we are trying rice pasta, we removed beef and stick with organic turkey or tofu, organic chicken (meats we don't eat often anyways) what we eat most of the time is fruit, lots of it and raw veggies and hummus.

Q. What is Auto immune?

A. I don't have a full understanding of it and there are so many types, it just confuses me. You'll have to look that one up on your own.

Q. Does Lilly know what's going on?

A. Yes and no, she knows that we did test because she was sick, at this time we don't tell her she is sick or that there is something wrong with her. She is only 3 and dose not need to be concerned with all this when we don't even know what's going on. She is happy and that's the best thing for her.

Q. Does Logan (her brother) know what's going on?
A. Yes and no, he went with us to many doctors appointments and has asked us if Lilly has cancer, this shocked us because we don't talk about this stuff around the kids. We did tell him that no she does not have cancer, but something is going on that's made her sick and we are trying to figure it out. That's all he knows and he does not need to be worried about this when we have no answers.

Q. Have you tried alternative medicine? 

A. I have no idea what else to try, but if you have suggestions, please let me know. We also don't know what we are facing so no we have not looked into that. 

Q. What is a hematologist Oncologist?

A. Here is a link that explains it - CLICK HERE

Q. Who takes care of Lilly when you and David are working? You said she can't got to daycare.

A. Monday and Tuesday are David's days off so she spends her time with daddy, Wednesday  through Friday she is with her grandma and I have the weekend off.

Q. Has the lump changes size? How big is the lump?
A. The lump is the size of a quarter on her neck and it has not changed size as far as we can tell, it looks the same as it has for the past few months and we try and keep a close eye on it.

Q. Is it OK for me to share your Facebook page and blog with my friends and family too?
A. Sure I guess, we put together the blog to let family and friends know what has gone on and to keep you all informed on her progress... If you want to share.. go for it.

Q. How are you and David doing?
A. Both David and I are fine, we take things day by day, we worry when Lilly is in pain and then there are days she is doing so well we forget all about it. The waiting on the next appointment for the results is a pain in the butt.