July 26: We found a Posterior Fossa Brain Tumor (Bad news)
July 28: Successful surgical removal of the tumor (Good News!)
July 31: We determined it was a Medulloblastoma (Bad News)
August 5: We ruled out WNT and SHH tumor variants (news)
August 12: We determined it was a Group 4 tumor (Good News!)

The final open question to determine prognosis and finalize treatment plans was whether or not there are cancer cells in the cerbrospinal fluid (CSF). 

Yesterday, Mack underwent an outpatient procedure to insert an injection port under his skin in his chest and perform a Lumbar Puncture to test his CSF. 

We got a call from his oncologist today to say...

August 15: THERE ARE NO DETECTABLE CANCER CELLS IN HIS CSF (MORE GOOD NEWS!!)

This brings with it a few additional pieces of good news - he is eligible for a clinical trial that includes 2 parts:

1) He can get a drug called Sodium Thiosulfate which has been shown to reduce the chance of significant hearing loss associated with one of the chemotherapy drugs, Cisplatin. 

2) He can get a lower radiation dose, which significantly reduces the chance of negative cognitive effects of the radiation.  

This also means that he will undergo a slightly less aggressive regimen of chemotherapy - so the next 9 months will suck just a bit less than they would have otherwise and his prognosis is considerably better. 

We're going to Cure him!!

So join us in celebrating some much needed good news!

Link, Mack's 17 year old brother, has come up with a hashtag for us:

#CurbStompCancer