Chris Angell Medical Fund

As many of you know, Chris, Shelly, Jacob and Emily have had their lives turned upside down not once, but twice this year.   In July of 2014 they lost their son/brother, Brandon in a car accident.     That loss and tragedy alone is so much more than any family should ever have to go through.     Unfortunatly, this was just the beginning.   They had no idea what was yet to come. In March 2015, Chris was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma.

Through this past year I have been absolutely amazed how Shelly and Chris have dealt with everything that has come their way.   Despite how their lives have been turned upside down, not once, but twice and all within a year, they remain positive and I know if anyone can get through this, and beat this, they can.   

If you're like me, you want to help.  With the week long hospital stays where he receives chemo, and a long road of radiation ahead, the medical bills are mounting.   Thank goodness for insurance, but as we all know, it doesn't cover everything.    That is the reason for starting this page.   If you'd like to help them out, please feel free to make a contribution.  

If nothing else, please take a moment and read their story in Shelly's words and send a note of encouragement and support.  

The posts below are from Chris' Caring Bridge site (www.caringbridge.org/visit/chrisangell)  and go through July 24th.    

"This past March, Chris noticed a lump growing on the left side of his neck. Over the next couple of weeks it was getting bigger, so he called and made an appointment. Red Wing Mayo Clinic acted quickly, taking a biopsy and CT scan. On Good Friday, the results came back that it was likely cancer and by Monday morning at 9am we were at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester meeting with an ENT doctor who had another biopsy ordered for him that day. Surgery was scheduled to remove the lump that week, but was cancelled and replaced with a PET scan to see if any other areas of his body were cancerous.  We held our breath until the results came in that the cancer was only showing up in his neck. At that time, we still didn't know what type of cancer it was.

On April 15, Chris had surgery at St. Mary's. A baseball sized tumor, a muscle and all the lymphnodes on his left side were removed. He spent 3 days in the hospital and then was sent home to wait for the pathology results. On May 4, we met with the Mayo ENT doctor and he said that Chris had been diagnosed with Neuroblastoma. They had a very difficult time and sent samples to many pathologists until the diagnosis was made. Neuroblastoma is a cancer that is most common in children and not 45 year-old men. Due to the small number of adults that have experienced Neuroblastoma, he was not able to give them any type of prognosis.    

We met  with the doctor to discuss Chris' plan for treatment.   Chris is the seventh adult and only the second male that his doctor has worked with.   
A lot of time was spent going over the plan and the possible side-effects. Chris will be having 6 weeks of radiation every day Monday-Friday down at Mayo. Before he can start, there are more appointments scheduled. He will be having a mouth-guard made by the Mayo Dental Department, radiation simulations, MRI's and a CT scan. This is all done to stage the radiation and make sure they are targeting the right area. So, next week, we will be there 4 out of the 5 days. She also prepared us for the possible side-effects such as; trouble swallowing, burns on his skin (like a sunburn), loss of saliva glands on his left side, and fatigue. This was probably the most difficult conversation we have had so far and the reality of what's to come sets in. 

Chris has been down to Mayo on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Monday he had to have some trays made for his mouth for after radiation. He will need to have fluoride treatments daily to combat the side effects of the radiation. Luckily he was able to get into his Physical Therapy appointment early which eliminated his four hour wait in between. On Tuesday, he had the simulations scheduled for most of the morning. We got down there around 8 for the first appointment and Chris went back to meet with the doctor. He came out about 10 minutes later and said that all the appointments for the day had been rescheduled for Friday and that they had scheduled for him to have his Wisdom tooth removed instead. What?? I couldn't believe that on top of everything else, he now had to have a dental procedure done. Ugh!! They needed the tooth removed so that the mouth guard they are making for radiation will fit better. Even though we understand, it was still frustrating that he would have to go through another procedure. So, we waited around for his 11:00 appointment, which he didn't get in until 12:00 and then headed up to another floor to get the mouth guard made. Chris had Wednesday off and today he has to go down to pick up the mouth guard, then we are back down tomorrow (Friday) for a day full of appointments. Radiation has been pushed back.

Friday was a long, anxiety-producing day for Chris. He had appointments from 7:45-1:45 with no waiting time in between. The morning was spent creating the mask that he needs to wear during radiation and the afternoon was spent getting his MRI and CT scans. He was feeling claustrophobic as they put the mesh over his head and shoulder area as it was formed, but they did agree to cut out eye holes for him. Then he had to wear the mask during his CT and MRI scans. After Friday, we joked that his radiation appointments will seem like a piece of cake.
Radiation is set for June 1 and all of the 30 sessions are on the calendar. As I scrolled through the dates of the appointments, I got a little emotional when I saw that his last radiation appointment is scheduled for July 13, the one-year anniversary of Brandon's accident. I believe that everything happens for a reason and I know that Brandon will be with us through it all. 

After last Friday's scan, it was confirmed that the cancer is continuing to grow in the same area. This has caused the doctor's to reevaluate the plan for radiation. Chris talked with Dr.Arndt, the pediatric oncologist, today on the phone. After consulting with an oncologist from Philadelphia Children's hospital, she has decided on a new plan for treatment. On Monday, Chris will have lab work done and then be admitted to Methodist Hospital for five days. Once he is cleared for chemo, they will start a five day regimen. After the five days, he will come home for a 21 day break and then return for a second five day regimen of chemo. After the second round, he will go through all the imaging again and they will decide what comes next. Radiation may still be in the picture.

We are still trying to process all the information that was received over the phone, but we feel like this is a step back from where we were. It is scary when the doctors are having a hard time understanding why the cancer is reoccurring so quickly and they each have an opinion about what should be done. Chris' ENT Surgeon is adamant that he start treatment rather than waiting for another consultation with a different oncologist. Their urgency raises our anxiety. After tears and talking about what this means for Chris and our family, we are committed to dealing with this day by day...we are not going to get ahead of ourselves and try to predict what the future holds. We are going to get through this together and be positive that we are heading towards healing.   

Monday was a long day. We were playing the "hurry up, then wait" game. We were at Mayo by 7am for his lab work and then we met with a nurse that works with Chris' oncologist. She went over the plans for chemo and the possible side-effects he should expect. The biggest ones are nausea/vomiting and hair loss. They have plenty of drugs to help with the nausea and the hair loss is one we were expecting. That should start to occur about 14 days after his first treatment. Fatigue will also set in as his white blood cell count takes a dive.

After that visit, Chris was admitted to Methodist Hospital. The unit feels a little isolated, as this is where some of the chemo takes place for adults. We sat for about 5 hours before things started moving. He had a PICC line put in and fluids were started. At 5:30 he received his first dose of Topotecan for 30 minutes and then he was given Cyclophosphamide for another 30 minutes. Each day he will have chemo at the same time. The rest of the day he is hooked up to fluids.

The plan for Chris to be admitted today for chemo changed after we met with the oncologist this morning. She decided that he should have a port put in instead of doing a PIC line again.  We had an appointment late this afternoon for learning about the port and the process of getting one and then we came back home. Tomorrow, we need to be at St.Mary's by 7AM to have the procedure for the port. The nurse said that it should take about 3 hours and that he will be sedated lightly. Then we will head over to Methodist and get him started on the chemo. Chris was feeling frustrated with the change, but understands that this was going to happen one way or another, so it's best just to take care of it now. As we questioned that doctor today about what happens after this next round of chemo, she stated that he will have scans on July 13th and a doctor appointment with her on the 14th. Apparently, he might be admitted for a third round at that time. That wasn't the answer we were expecting, so it took us back a little. We will continue to remind ourselves that things change and we need to be grateful for what we have. We appreciate all the support, prayers and comments from all of you.  

The day started with Chris, Mary (Chris' Sister) and myself heading down to Mayo to meet with the Nurse Practitioner who works with Chris' Oncologist. She took time to review the scans with us and seemed pleased that the size of the tumor has shrunk a bit. We had questions about how many rounds of chemo they are expecting Chris to have. Julia, the Nurse Practitioner, said that they are anticipating between 4-6 chemo rounds followed by a radiation regimen after the rounds are done. Scans will be done again after round 4 and we will get a better idea if more rounds are needed at that time. I think we all felt a little disappointed with the answer, but we realize it is in Chris' best interest and we have to follow their plan. I guess maybe it is finally hitting us that there is not a quick fix for the Neuroblastoma like we had hoped.

Chris is just over one week out from his third round. He generally feels good and has continued to keep busy around the house and he has started back at work. The only real complaint he has is a light-headed feeling once in awhile and feeling like he has "chemo-brain." He also had some back spasms and a slight fever while we were camping, so he called the oncology department and they told him to keep an eye on his temp. As far as the back spasms, they weren't sure what would be causing those. On Monday, he had a blood test and his white blood cells are rebounding nicely. The concern now is that his platelets are very low. They need to come up before he can go back in for chemo. A blood test has been scheduled for Friday to see if his platelets are coming up. The next round is scheduled for August 4, when he will be admitted back into the hospital. Thinking about the smells of the hospital and the anticipation of sitting in there for 5 days are enough to make him dread having to go back. This time around we are going to see if he can have some time off to at least go out of the building for lunch. It's the little things that can make the stay a little more tolerable. "

As of today, Chris is still scheduled to return for his fourth  week-long stay in the hospital on Monday, August 4th.   If the plan does not change he will need to return for two more week-long stays at the hospital which will then be followed by many radiation treatments.
    
You can follow Shelly's posts on Chris' caring bridge page  (www.caringbridge.org/visit/chrisangell) .

Thank you!