Meet NED, I mean Jacob

I haven't even published the best news ever. Jacob completed all of his end of treatment scans mid-February. This included: CT scan to chest, pelvis, & abdomen. Localized ultrasound at original tumor site. Full body bone scan. He also did his routine labs (bunch of blood tests). His doctor called to report that all the tests came back normal. His counts are great. He'll be returning to school soon.

N.E.D. stands for No Evidence of Disease. Among rhabdo parents (and perhaps other cancer patients) it's like getting an A+ on a report card.

Several weeks ago I was joking with Jacob that we want to call him Ned after all his scans. I explained that being NED is the best news a kid with cancer can get. It means that the doctors have looked all over the scans and can't find any cancer. We hope that they NEVER will be able to find it in him again.

Jacob thought it over for a moment. Then he said, "I just want to be Jacob."

Bless his kissable cheeks!!! Another lesson taught. Nobody wants to be defined by their disease. We just want to be ourselves.

In Jacob's medical file I'd love it if they stamped "N.E.D." in big bold red ink. But, at our house he's just our Jacob.