Back Story: Last year Lynn Streeter introduced us to an exceptional young man by the name of Matthew Ceelen. Matt's story began with a letter to our club requesting financial support for his Eagle Scout project of building two bat houses to be placed in the Mequon Nature Preserve. With the request approved, we heard what Paul Harvey used to call "The rest of the story". Matthew was diagnosed with bone cancer just weeks shy of his 15th birthday. In medical terms it is a high grade sclerosing subtype of osteosarcoma. Approximately 450 children in North America are diagnosed with osteosarcoma each year. He is 1 of approximately 4 children who will be diagnosed with his subtype of osteosarcoma in 2017. Update: Posted by Deb Lehman (3/11/2019) Matthew’s appointment with oncology was delayed to Feb 22, but the wait was worth it. The CT scan was normal and he is officially nine months cancer free! In the weeks since that appointment, his labs have improved. HIs liver tests went back to normal on Feb 18 after discontinuing Rifampin. His white cell count and neutrophils, which fight infection, have normalized after being really low. The numbers were similar to his counts when he was on chemotherapy. The low counts can be a side effect of Vancomycin, but given Matthew’s history it could have also been a side effect of the high dose Methotrexate chemotherapy. Methotrexate can cause bone marrow issues long term. If the numbers would not have improved, Matthew would have had to have a bone marrow biopsy which he was upset to hear. Luckily, that is not necessary at this time. The “late effects” of his cancer treatments may not show up for years and add a layer to his healthcare that must be taken into consideration throughout his lifetime. |