Mike Judge vs Ewing's Sarcoma

The whole situation with this trial has been really frustrating. It was originally supposed to begin at the start of July, but got pushed back a month. Now the trial has been delayed a few more weeks. Currently, I am scheduled to have my scans and pre-testing the week of 8/20. Then, I'll have surgery the following week. The trial keeps getting delayed because the facility used to make the vaccine needs to be updated to meet FDA code. It is a lengthy process to become Phase III ready. I'm so stressed out right now because there is so much uncertainty, and so many ways things can go in the next few months. We are certain that this nodule is a Ewing's recurrence, but we are letting it continue to grow/spread unchecked for months. I am worried about the upcoming PET scan. I was very skeptical when I didn't have a PET scan last summer. I'm relieved to get the rest of my body checked out, but I'm afraid of finding other spots. I'm worried that I will be placed i...

Since my last post I have had two sets of scans.  I had my first scan in March, and with that came uncertainty. It appeared to have grown on the scan, but my primary oncologist, and surgeon from last summer remained skeptical of this being a recurrence. My oncologist in Cleveland believed it to be a recurrence. His opinion was that it would need to be taken care of sometime this summer. My most recent scan has now put both of my oncologists in agreement. It's now 99.9% likely to be another recurrence. It is now measured at 9x8 mm, up from 6.8x6 mm in December. Luckily it is growing slow for Ewing's, and at least nothing else has come up on the scans yet, but it is still terrible news. This will need to be taken of, and will be soon. The best option for me after consultation with both of my oncologists is to enroll in the Vigil trial ( https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03495921 ).  It was originally slated to start taking patients at the end of June, but has ...

About two weeks ago I had a chest CT and a second opinion. The appointment was an online video chat, and went well. I had a ton of questions to ask, and we went through them all. My mom also joined in on the call. So onto the details... He was very happy to provide me with good news. The nodule seems to have shrunk, or at least didn't grow rapidly. He was very surprised. After receiving my last scan in December he thought this was a recurrence. In fact, he said later in the appointment that he expected this to have grown with possibly more spots show up. To him the results were somewhat of a miracle. He asked me who's all praying for me twice during the appointment. There is one caveat to this though. The scan wasn't at the same detail that I usually have. At Penn I have 1mm cuts, and this most recent one was done at 5mm. This is an issue because it's possible that the scan is underestimating the nodule's size. This was one of the first things that my oncolog...

I was scheduled to have my appointment on Black Friday, but I had to cancel it. On my way up to Pennsylvania, I got in a car accident. I was one of two people rear ended by the same person. It was not a chain collision, just a crazy person paying more attention to the dog on her lap than the road. At least no one was injured and her insurance is going to cover all of the repairs and everything, but it ruined the holiday and plans for the appointment. Also, I just purchased the car this summer, and it was just under 2000 miles. I unfortunately had to stay in Richmond by myself this Thanksgiving. So onto what you came on here for. I had my appointment on December 1st, and the results are both good and uncertain. There are no new nodules anywhere, but the nodule from the last scan grew slightly. It grew from 5.7x5mm to 6.8x6mm. It is in the exact same spot as the one that was removed. In fact, the radiology report compares it to the nodule found in January, as if it's the same one...

I've been keeping some very bad news from you. I have been quiet because I didn't want to put anything on here until I knew all of the details myself. I had all of the info when I wrote my last post, but the bad news would have erased all of the good news I had to write about. This one will be long, maybe my longest, so be prepared. Well, with that out of the way, here are the details... June 30th, I had an appointment with my oncologist for my 3 year scans. As you know, I always have my scan the day of the test. Thus, my oncologist doesn't have a final report at appointment time; sometimes a preliminary report, but not always. As usual, he looks over the scan himself, and gives me the good news that it's all clear. This time was no different. Afterwards, we made a stop at Ikea on the way back home. I bought a ton of furniture for my apartment. Everything was going great. We had a Fourth of July/College Graduation party going on the next day.  The next day,...

Well, its been a year since my last update.  Here's what's happened since then... College I finished up my last year of college. I graduated with a degree in Computer Science and a minor in Mathematics. I finished Magna Cum Laude in the College of Engineering (Top 6% of class). I'm very proud of myself. Graduating college was a very distant goal four years ago when I was being pumped with chemotherapy. I even finished with better grades than before cancer. This is because I became even more driven after going through cancer. Also, after going through my treatments and returning to school, my studies became an important outlet for me to escape or at least not think about what had happened. My obsessiveness with my studies definitely helped my grades too. Moving out to Penn State my junior year was the best thing to happen to me psychologically since being diagnosed. My mood and energy improved a lot. Graduating college means so much more to me than just receiving ...

I've had a few appointments since my last update so let's catch up. June 2015, I had an appointment to check the status of the healing of my arm. There was progress, but not enough to allow me to do whatever I want. I was given the green-light to do controlled weight bearing activities like push-ups, but an unexpected fall on my arm would more than likely break the work that's there so I had to be really careful. It bummed me out that I still had restrictions, but I did what I could. By the end of the summer I was able to do three push-ups, so I did make progress. It took me weeks before I could even do one. The combination of the pain, and the muscular atrophy is what made it so difficult. I waited until December of 2015 to get an update on my arm, and I finally received the news I had been waiting for. There was enough callous formation to lift all restrictions! I can do whatever I want now. It took two years from the original surgery, but late is better than never. B...