You heard it right - I'm shaving my head again for a second year in solidarity with children who have cancer and typically lose their hair during treatment, while raising critical funds for childhood cancer research!
In the US, more children die of childhood cancer than any other disease. Please make a donation to support childhood cancer research so that all children diagnosed with cancer will have a better chance for a cure.
To make a donation, click on "Make A Donation" or donate by mail or phone. Thank you for your support!
Share with all your Facebook friends to donate even $1 because every bit counts. We can't do it alone !
I have linked www.jeffreydoyle.com to this donation page to make it easier to remember and share the word about how to return here to donate.
Knowing that by my shaving off less than two inches of hair, the money I raised is going to a cause that will help a child win the fight against cancer.
The reason I started doing this was because a young boy named Collin. Colin is a vivacious, charismatic boy who is both loving and well loved. Leading up to his second birthday, he became more clumsy, tripping when he shouldn't have been, and complaining frequently of headaches (by pointing at his head). His head also seemed to tilt to one side and, in retrospect, began eating with his left hand and generally favoring that side.
With the sneaking suspicion that something was wrong, his parents planned on bringing the issue up with his pediatrician at his upcoming well visit. However, they ended up at the doctor's office on his second birthday, finding out that he had a double ear infection. This could explain the loss of balance at the time but left them still wondering about his behavior over time.
The following day, they returned to the office with a trivial complaint (a bug bite, it turns out, rather than the feared contusion!) because of the neurological concerns and the pediatrician ordered a non-priority CT scan. Thanks to Dr. Golenbock for hearing the parents concerns and the parental intuition that something wasn't right.
On Sunday morning, the day they planned to celebrate his birthday with his cousins, Colin couldn't support his body with his legs and started arching his back, throwing his head back.
Alarmed, they headed straight to the emergency room in Danbury, CT, where the ER doctor ordered a CT scan and suggested that he be transfer to Westchester for a full neurological workup. They appreciate the recommendation from Dr. Michelin in Danbury and her assurance that they would get an answer that day.
Unfortunately, the CT scan showed a mass in the posterior fossa region of the brain. Growing out of the fourth ventricle, wrapping around the cerebellum and much of the brain stem and extending down the top of the spinal cord, it had backed up a large amount of fluid in his brain. The cerebellum controls balance and motor control, explaining much of Colin's symptoms. Often, the symptoms in these cases are sporadic and appear to improve throughout the course of the day, as they had seen with Colin.
Colin was admitted into the Pediatric ICU (PICU) on Sunday and immediately saw one of the neurosurgeons who treated him there. The MRI the following day made clear the extent of the tumor, which was not fully evident in the CT scan.
The immediate concern was the pressure that caused Colin's neurological symptoms, and it was also important to diagnose the type and nature of the tumor. Both were impossible to ascertain/confirm without biopsies. The surgeons were reluctant to speculate, as Colin's case did not fit a common pattern familiar to the team in Westchester. The biopsy revealed that the tumor was ependynoma, a relatively uncommon cancer that is often restricted to the posterior fossa region but in his case migrated much further.
There is some suggestion that the tumor is congenital and it may have become more aggressive only recently.
Colin's first surgery removed the section of tumor on the back side of the cerebellum, freeing up room for the fluid to flow and presumably relieving pressure. Another component of surgery was the installation of a drain that provided an external valve to alleviate pressure. Colin's body adjusted to the pressure well and the surgeons removed the drain.
Colin's second surgery was performed by Dr. Jeffrey Wisoff at NYU Medical Center, successfully removing 95 - 98% of the tumor. He reported the tumor remnant as a piece 5 mm x 5 mm x 2 mm. Although the immediately pre-op MRI showed evidence of metastasis in two places in the spine, a later post-op scan found the spine clear of disseminated disease.
Colin is receiving chemotherapy through a trial at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. If the chemo works, then he will move on to proton therapy; otherwise, he will have an additional surgery before proton therapy.
Colin's been a terrific patient, holding still for CT scans and rapid MRIs, tolerating an IV line and other indignities, and flirting shamelessly with the nurses. We see every sign that he is handling this well and has proven more adaptable than anybody else in this situation.
This has also been a challenging time for Aidan his big brother, who is sensitive and is very concerned about his brother..
On Wednesday, May 25 2010, Colin boarded a plane in Memphis and finally made his way home and doing so much better thanks to the great people at St Jude's and many prayers. Its for this reason It is important that people donate.
For more updates on Collin you can visit http://www.colinlovestractors.com/
