Mattie's Testing Schedule July 28th and August 1st

On Monday, July 28th, 2008, Mattie will be getting two tests: one will be a Bone Biopsy of his upper right Humerus and two, will be a CT Scan of his lungs/chect. The Bone Biopsy is being done to collect cells from both within his arm bone and outside of the bone where there is significant calcification (the formation of bone material) in his soft tissues (i.e. muscle). By the way, the clacification (the cells attempting to grow new bone in the muscle tissue) and the formation of nerve endings in the surface areas of those cells is the source of pain for Mattie.

We expect to get results within 3-4 days. We have a follow-up scheduled with Dr. Toretsky on Thursday at 3pm ET, at which we should have the results of the biopsy and CT Scan (see below). As an output of the CT Scan, the cells will be collected, cultured and profiled to confirm the type of cells and cancer he is dealing with. The CT Scan is being done on the lungs and chest since in 90% of the cases where there is metastasis (i.e. the spread of cancer to other organs and/or systems of the body) the lungs are the prime target in addition to other bones. The hoped-for outcome of this procedure is a negative result for the presence of any lung tissue with suspicious masses, lesions or nodules. If something is found, we will have to go through more tests that are likely to be more invasive and definitive. More to come when we get results.

On Friday, August 1st, 2008, Mattie will undergo a bone scan which will scan each bone in the body for masses or suspicious areas. The hoped-for outcome of this procedure is a negative readout on the presence of any additional areas affected by the cancer. If something returns as a positive find, then Mattie will likely have to provide bone samples (a very painful procedure) from a variety of locations in addition to added blood work and screens. More to come when we get results.