Delayed Cycle 11 and Christmas Magic

Caroline didn't make counts this week to be admitted for Cycle 11.  She has scans on January 17th, so we're going to give her body a rest until those are complete, and try again for Cycle 11 inpatient admission the following day (1/18/23).  After 10 cycles, and in the middle of cold and flu season, her body is really struggling to recover between cycles.  We'll update the blog when we have scan results and an update for admission.

In other news, our prayers for Christmas magic were answered!  After a very horrible Cycle 10, Caroline was in rough shape physically and mentally...but on December 20th, Tractor Supply Co. granted her wish - a shopping spree for un-adoptable dogs!  It was truly an incredible day.  The generosity of Tractor Supply Co. was beyond words...giving Caroline a $3,000 shopping spree at the South Franklin store, as well as $1,000 to the Heaven Can Wait Animal Rescue (the animal sanctuary Caroline selected to receive the toys from the shopping spree) and Angel Heart Farm (the equine therapy foundation that coordinated the wish).   Click here to see the full news story with video...

Unfortunately, Caroline's hair started falling out again.  After a week of hair all over the place, she made the decision to shave her head again today.  She's the bravest girl we know!

Wishing you all a healthy and peaceful start to the New Year,

The Lantz Family

#carolinestrong

#ftgf

PS - For those asking, here is the link to get #carolinestrong apparel.  Thank you for the continued support!

Cycle 7 Update

Caroline was discharged yesterday after being inpatient all week for Cycle 7.  Although she experienced all of the typical side effects, the cycle overall was "uneventful."  We're always grateful for the thoughts and prayers!

Home in time for Ravens' Kick-off!

Starting Cycle 3

Caroline made her ANC count requirement this morning and was admitted inpatient at Vanderbilt for Cycle 3 of her treatment for relapsed High-Risk Neuroblastoma. Today she will receive 2 chemotherapies along with various other drugs for side affects.

Tuesday through Saturday, she will receive both chemos + an antibody immunotherapy drug which will be accompanied by a 24-7 Dilaudid drip for pain management.  We are hoping that she gets through this week with minimal side affects and hopefully can get home late Saturday. 

Thank you for all the prayers and support!

The Lantz Family

#carolinestrong
#ftgf

#mood upon arrival

Home from Cycle 2

Caroline completed Cycle 2 of her chemo-antibody therapy, and was discharged on Saturday. She’s home resting and recovering from the harsh side effects of treatment. Unless she needs to sooner, her next clinic appointment is on Friday (5/27). She has progress scans and a bone marrow biopsy on 6/1 and 6/2. We will update the blog after we get the results from her scans. Thank you so much for your prayers and support.

The Lantz Family
#ftgf
#carolinestrong

How she spent most of the time inpatient.

Heading home...too weak to walk.

Rashes from the antibody leaving her system.

One shot per day for 7 days post-inpatient treatment.

Recovering on the couch with her BFF, Hank.

Cycle 2 Treatment Underway!

Caroline started Cycle 2 today - two chemotherapies (Irinotecan and Temozolimade) each day for five days. The antibody therapy (Dinutuximab) will be added tomorrow - it runs for 20 hours per day through Saturday. The antibody causes extreme pain, so starting tomorrow until we leave, she will be on a constant dilaudid drip 24/7.

Assuming all goes well, Caroline should be discharged this weekend. The other main side effects from this treatment are: rash, nausea, diarrhea and fever.

Please pray for an uneventful week, and that this treatment is working to kill off all of the Neuroblastoma cells in her body. She will get her progress scans on June 3rd.

All the Best,
The Lantz Family
#ftgf 

#carolinestrong

Donate Blood in Caroline's Honor

#carolinestrong T-Shirts

Contribute to Medical Expenses via GoFundMe

Family Meals via UberEats (email to margaretlantz@gmail.com)

Misc. Treatment Needs via Amazon Gift Card (email to margaretlantz@gmail.com)

Caroline was able to snag the "movie theater" set-up today...projector movies and theater snacks all night!

Cycle One Inpatient Complete - Home

Caroline finished her inpatient stay for Cycle 1 of treatment for relapsed Neuroblastoma today! She's at home resting and recovering from a brutal 6-night stay at Vanderbilt. The side effects have been nausea, diarrhea, occasional rash, fever, loss of appetite, overall pain, and discomfort.

In the past week, she's had her port placed, a bone marrow biopsy, 2 chemos each day for five days, and the antibody treatment infused over 20 hours per day for four days.  Beginning today, for the next 7 days, Caroline will receive Leukine shots to help her immune system recover. She is also on more than a half dozen other medications to help with the treatment side effects and infection prevention.  Cycle 2 will start in about two weeks (mid-May), with weekly outpatient clinic visits to check her counts in between.

She will spend the next few days recovering at home, and we are hoping she feels well enough to get back to school soon, although she'll have to limit her physical activity due to the port (located in the upper right side of her chest), and she also had to stop playing spring rec soccer.  

Please continue to pray / send good vibes / hope for the best possible outcome for Caroline. In addition to needing the treatment to kill off these aggressive cancer cells spread throughout her little body again, she is really just so sad.  This time around she is more aware of what she's "missing," and she has a lot more "big" feelings about what's going on.  Although we have faith and will go to the ends of the earth to fight this, we all know too much and are scared.

We are so grateful for her amazing care team at Vanderbilt…as always, they have been gracious, patient, and compassionate during this entire process.

As we mentioned before, we have received some packages in the mail without sender information…please know we appreciate every one of you, and the outpouring of love and generosity! We know we can’t do this alone, and there is much comfort for us in numbers.  We definitely can feel all the love and support, and know Caroline has an army from all over behind her!  

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Donate Blood in Caroline's Honor

Contribute to Medical Expenses via GoFundMe

Family Meals via UberEats (email to margaretlantz@gmail.com)

Misc Treatment Needs via Amazon Gift Card (email to margaretlantz@gmail.com)

Recovering at home

Beside EKG after some chest pains on night 5

Bedside X-Ray after chest pains on night 5

How she spent most of her time inpatient...

Caroline got a VERY special visit from Squid, the hospial's emotonal support dog.  He spent almost an hour laying in bed with her on one of the hardest days of the cycle.  As soon as she saw Squid coming into the room, her face lit up - and words cannot describe how much seeing her smile meant!  Thank you Mars Petcare and the Better Cities for Pets Program for sponsoring Squid at VUMC!

Port / Biopsy / Cycle One

 A video message from Caroline:

Tomorrow is a big day...Caroline will go under anesthesia to have her central line (port) placed, get a bone marrow biopsy from her lower back, and then she will be admitted to the Oncology floor at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital to begin her first cycle of chemotherapy.

A recap of the cycles: 2 chemo drugs + 1 antibody drug while inpatient over 5 nights/6 days, home to recover for two weeks – including daily shots to recover her immune system, then repeat again.

Please pray that her body responds to this therapy, and that it immediately starts to kill off the cancer cells in her body!

Many thanks for all the prayers, outreach, love, and support...it's go time!

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong

#ftgf

***T-Shirts are almost ready…we will post the link as soon as we have it. If you’d like to help in the meantime, here are a couple links:

American Red Cross Blood Donation
Caroline's Hospital Wishlist
Medical Expenses via GoFundMe
Family Meals via UberEats Gift Cards (sent to margaretlantz@gmail.com)

A huge “thank you” to those that have sent Caroline gifts…many arrived without the sender's name, but we are so grateful!

Photo Credit: SK!

Life Update / Scan Results: 30 Months

Over the past few weeks, Caroline has recieved numerous post-treatement tests/scans/appointments, which concluded yesterday.  As always, we prayed hard for No Evidence of Disease (NED)...and we are beyond thrilled to be able to share that Caroline continues to be cancer-free since April 2019, 2.5 years after completing her standard treatment protocol for Stage IV, High-Risk Neuroblastoma and six months after completing her DFMO Clinical Trial!

Test Results: 
VMA/HVA urine test - NED
CT Scan - NED
X-Ray - No abnormalities
Labs/Blood Markers - All in good range, but she needs an iron supplement
MRI for Spinal Compression Fractures - No change
MIBG Scan - NED

We want to thank her amazing team of caretakers at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, the Beat Childhood Cancer Foundation for her DFMO clinical trial, and the army of prayer warriors around the world who have supported us for (almost) 4 years.

Caroline is currently thriving in 2nd grade, playing soccer, hanging out with friends, and excels in her main sibiling duty of annoying her brother.  We are so grateful she has been able to enjoy being a “normal” kid in 2021.

September was Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and Caroline was able to support and create awareness through a variety of events:

~Formulated a "carolinestrong" candle scent in collaboration with In Love There’s Light as a Fundraiser for Beat Childhood Cancer 

~Ambassador for the Children's Miracle Network during the "Ride of a Life Time" at Lifetime Fitness (shoutout to Ms. Hilary and her spin class!)
~Actor in a Love Your Melon and BeatCC awareness campaign video (click here to watch if you have Facebook)

Pediatric cancer is severly underfunded, recieving only 4% of all government funding for cancer-related research, so we are always honored to be asked and happy to participate in doing our part to shine a spotlight on this dreadful disease in hopes of advancing research.

All the best,
The Lantz Family

TWO YEARS since diagnosis - where are we now?

It’s hard to believe we’ve hit the two year “cancer-versary” of Caroline’s diagnosis: November 24, 2017. We feel so many things, but mostly just grateful. Her original diagnosis was on Black Friday, and last year we were inpatient for Thanksgiving AND her one year mark...we are continuously reminded of how much we have to be thankful for, regardless of the holiday, or what the future holds.

The biggest blessing is that Caroline is alive and still has NO evidence of disease! She is on a clinical trial drug to (hopefully!) prevent relapse, and so far, so GREAT! She takes 6 pills a day, but relative to what she’s been through, it’s nothing. She is thriving in Kindergarten, was able to play soccer this Fall, and is enjoying being a Daisy Scout. She loves hanging out with her friends and having the freedom to do things that involve germs! She still loves singing, dancing, talking to everyone she meets, all things American Girl Dolls, and of course, her BFF dog, Hank.

Andrew has had his own version of challenges during this process, but he is resilient, strong, and protective of his little sister. He seems to have bounced back and is in full-on tween mode (fun times). He's loving all the new-found freedom Middle School has to offer, and is still football’s #1 fan!

As for Mark and Margaret...we’ve been trying to find or new “normal” over the past 6 months. Margaret went back to work full-time in September, and Mark has been steadfast in keeping our family together and supported; he's been our rock. PTSD is real, and it’s something that weaves in and out of our house regularly. We process and cope differently, but try to take each day, hour, minute as it comes, and practice patience.

As a family, we’ve slowly been able to show up for the community that carried us through, and it feels so good to be able to pay it forward and care for others. We’ve also been able to champion some causes that we so strongly believe in: BeatNB.org, Make-A-Wish, Children’s Miracle Network, and of course, the Monroe Carrel Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt!

We will continue to use the blog to update as Caroline gets required scans throughout the rest of her clinical trail (approximately 18 more months). Thank you for pouring your love, support and prayers into our family…you have sustained us through the past 2 years.

Looking forward to the new year and new decade!

All the best to you and yours,
The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Giving Back - Help Caroline's Team WIN!!!

Hello friends and family!

Caroline is back in school, playing YMCA soccer, starting Daisy Scouts, faithfully cheering on her brother (who is playing multiple sports!), and overall doing well.  Her next round of progress scans are scheduled for early October; we will update the blog with results.

With standard treatment behind us, our family has spent a lot of our free time giving back to the pediatric oncology community, and especially at Vanderbilt.  Most recently, Caroline was asked to participate in the Rascal Flatts Celebrity Golf Classic!  Please join us in donating to Team Caroline & Levi for Vanderbilt’s fundraising drive.  Let’s beat the other team and win this one!

Click here to DONATE!

Thank you for supporting our family, and pediatric cancer research/awareness!

The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Bacterial Infection / Hospital Admission

After complaining of a headache on Friday night, and waking up in rough shape Saturday morning (vomiting, chills, leg and stomach pain, high fever) we visited the Williamson Medical Center ER, which is only 2 miles from our home. They quickly ran nose/throat swabs and urine/blood tests, but nothing showed up on those initial results, so we were sent home on an antibiotic as a precautionary measure.

Overnight in the hospital lab, a bacteria rapidly grew in the blood culture they took at Williamson, so they called us Sunday morning to report that occurrence, and asked us to go to the Vanderbilt ER ASAP.

After a visit with the doctors, and some more testing, Caroline was admitted to Vanderbilt Floor 6A today for an infection in her bloodstream. We aren't sure how or when she contracted it, but it can be very dangerous for someone with a (still) suppressed immune system.

She has already started a different IV antibiotic that she will receive twice a day while inpatient, and then hopefully move to oral antibiotics later this week. Caroline is already feeling and looking better than she did yesterday, so we are glad both Williamson and Vanderbilt were aggressive and persistent with their testing, follow-up and diagnosis.

We will update the blog as she progresses but we are hoping this is a short 2 day stay.

We appreciate all of the prayers and support! Things can always be worse, so we try and put all of these setbacks in perspective even though it’s frustrating and inconvenient to a “normal” life that we want for her, and the family plans we had for the weekend!

Always Fighting,
The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Caroline Turns Six!

We had a great weekend celebrating Caroline, who turned 6 years old today!  She was able to hangout with her grandparents and aunt, celebrate with some school friends at the Lifetime gym, eat sushi for the first time in a year, and enjoy cheesecake and lots of whipped cream!  She also got to FaceTime with Maryland family members, and had a bunch of surprise visitors drop by with birthday wishes and treats - we are grateful for each and every one!  Such a happy day!

Love,
The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong

#ftgf

Clinical Trial Update

Caroline has officially completed her first month on the DFMO clinical trial drug, which is hopefully going to significantly reduce the risk of a relapse.  She had a clinic appointment this morning, and her labs looked great!

It's been a really fun month for Caroline to be a "normal" kid, and for us to spend a lot of time together doing things we haven't been able to do as a family in the past 19 months.  Some highlights include:

- getting to go to "real" school and ride the bus...even go on her first field trip
- losing (another) front tooth
- taking swimming lessons and being able to get back into the pool
- visiting the "American Girl" doll store for the first time
- being able to finally go into a movie theater (she saw "Penguins")
- Going to Andrew's baseball games
- 3 Easter egg hunts
- Preds Playoff Game
- Franklin Main Street Festival
- Play dates and the park with friends
- Walking as an ALUMNI in the Rally on the Runway Event, where she was interviewed and created original artwork that raised $7,500 for the foundation!

Other than one day in the ER after catching a virus 2 weeks ago, we've really had an awesome month.  Her hair is growing back quickly, and relative to what she's been through, the 6 DFMO pills per day that she needs to take is not a big deal for her. 

Assuming all goes well, Caroline will go back to clinic in a month for a check-up!  It's a surreal feeling to be on the other side of that daunting and devastating treatment, but it makes us so grateful for each day.  We feel so thankful, blessed, relieved, and happy to be able to look ahead. 

Thank you for the love, support and prayers!
The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

Rally on the Runway 2019 - Holding up her 2018 Rally Card

Field Day at school

Easter 2019

Predators 365 Foundation / Clinic Update

Caroline had a weekly clinic visit today for blood work and an overall check up.  Her numbers were mostly good, but her ANC keeps dropping, and is a little lower then we would like at this point.  The low number could be registering because of a common cold, or even side effects of the oral medications she is currently taking as the last portion of Round 5 (of 6) of Immunotherapy.  For now she will continue weekly check-ups until her progress scans are scheduled in mid April.

We want to say thank you to Pekka Rinne, The Nashville Predators, and Vanderbilt Children's Hospital, for always doing so much to support children who are in treatment!  We got to attend a Preds game last night in one of the suites sponsored by Pekka Rinne...who helped with an awesome Preds win in an OT shootout!  After the game, we were invited to go down to the locker room area and meet with some players.  It was so awesome to be able to congratulate and thank them for all they do for the community!  We are very grateful that they take the time to give back so graciously, especially after every one of these physically exhausting NHL games!

Chugging ahead,
The Lantz Family
#carolinestrong
#ftgf

 GO PREDS!

 Superstar Goalie - Pekka Rinne!

Fun visit with Ms. Kristen and Ms. Rhonda