“So Spirit, come, put strength in every stride, Give grace for every hurdle, That we may run with faith to win the prize, Of a servant good and faithful." (Getty, "O Church Arise")
"And from His fullness we have all received grace upon grace." John 1:16
Today is "Jingle Bell" Day! As I finish up my 6 rounds of the tough chemo I get to ring the brass bell in the Cancer Center. I've struggled with whether I should or shouldn't ring it. Part of me did not want to because it would seem odd to ring the bell and then say, "See you in three weeks!" But then I realized I needed to praise the Lord with that bell for his "grace upon grace" to me as I complete this hurdle.
As I continue this journey I am looking towards the next hurdles. It's been a hard 2 weeks of confusing comments from doctors about the next step. And when I called and asked them to please meet and come to a consensus, it seemed to irritate them. We are still praying about the possibility of doing more surgery, Spring Break at the earliest. Both surgeons and the radiation oncologist felt, as I did, that we need to try and go back in to get "clear margins" if possible. Now they are telling me their recommendation is to do the surgery only if I want the reconstruction and not for getting clear margins. It is very confusing, but I know that our God is not the author of confusion. He will make it clear in his own time.
I will begin doing just the Herceptin alone on Jan. 12. The other hurdle they introduced was the possibility of starting me on a chemo pill 4x a day called Tykerb. It works similarly to the Herceptin to block the Her2 so there is a chance the insurance company will not approve it. The possible side effects are moderate to severe and nothing I would want to endure. This was a big shock to me, but not to My God. My timber markers also went up again by 6 and a half points. This represents a cancer antigen marker and you do not want to see this go up. He will check it again in 3 weeks to see if it has dropped or continued to rise. Thanks for your prayers for wisdom as we look ahead to the New Year.
Thanks to all of the dear ladies that are spending some of their vacation time to purchase or make meals for us. All of your Christmas cards and verses have been so encouraging. I would very much like to be at church on Sunday morning because Joey is playing his marimba solo for the offertory. We hope you and your families have a blessed Christmas season!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Christmastime
We enjoyed the wonderful "Christmastime" Program at HPCS last night. Anna and Joey sang and played along with all of the other talented students and directors. We especially enjoyed being able to visit with Paulette, Joe's sister, and Madison, Joey and Anna's cousin. It was a great time of fellowship and worship of Christ.
I went for a check of my hemoglobin after experiencing extreme fatigue this week. It was unchanged which means I will not need a blood transfusion. They expect the increasing fatigue is due to the cumulative effect of the chemotherapy as I approach the last treatment on Dec. 22. I have an appointment with Dr. Wilcox, the radiation oncologist, next Tuesday to discuss possible electron radiation of the skin for our next step in this battle. It is different from the kind I had in 2009 for 7 weeks but I’m not sure exactly how. I should know more next week. I would most likely begin 4 to 6 weeks after my last treatment. After fully healing from that, I will most likely have surgery, maybe as late as next summer.
Thanks for your continued prayers. I had to take a half day Tuesday to go home and rest but that is only the second time I've had to take an extra day off apart from the 2 days of chemotherapy for each round. That is a wonderful testament of faithful prayers on my behalf. I praise God for all of the wonderful prayer warriors that help me to "rise on wings of faith". I would appreciate your prayers for my mom who is recovering from hip surgery this past Monday. And for Rach, my middle sis, who will continue her battle with breast cancer next week as she gets her port placement and begins chemotherapy on Thursday. Praying and trusting God for your healing! He is faithful!
I went for a check of my hemoglobin after experiencing extreme fatigue this week. It was unchanged which means I will not need a blood transfusion. They expect the increasing fatigue is due to the cumulative effect of the chemotherapy as I approach the last treatment on Dec. 22. I have an appointment with Dr. Wilcox, the radiation oncologist, next Tuesday to discuss possible electron radiation of the skin for our next step in this battle. It is different from the kind I had in 2009 for 7 weeks but I’m not sure exactly how. I should know more next week. I would most likely begin 4 to 6 weeks after my last treatment. After fully healing from that, I will most likely have surgery, maybe as late as next summer.
Thanks for your continued prayers. I had to take a half day Tuesday to go home and rest but that is only the second time I've had to take an extra day off apart from the 2 days of chemotherapy for each round. That is a wonderful testament of faithful prayers on my behalf. I praise God for all of the wonderful prayer warriors that help me to "rise on wings of faith". I would appreciate your prayers for my mom who is recovering from hip surgery this past Monday. And for Rach, my middle sis, who will continue her battle with breast cancer next week as she gets her port placement and begins chemotherapy on Thursday. Praying and trusting God for your healing! He is faithful!
Thursday, December 1, 2011
All Things Work Together for Good
"O church, arise and put your armor on; hear the call of Christ our captain; for now the weak can say that they are strong in the strength that God has given. With shield of faith and belt of truth we'll stand against the devil's lies; an army bold whose battle cry is "love" reaching out to those in darkness.
Come, see the cross where love and mercy meet, as the Son of God is stricken; Then see His foes lie crushed beneath His feet, for the Conqueror has risen! And as the stone is rolled away, and Christ emerges from the grave, This vict'ry march continues till the day ev'ry eye and heart shall see Him.
So Spirit, come, put strength in ev'ry stride, Give grace for ev'ry hurdle, That we may run with faith to win the prize of a servant good and faithful. As saints of old still line the way, retelling triumphs of His grace. We hear their calls and hunger for the day when, with Christ, we stand in glory." (Getty and Townsend 2005)
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God...And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself interceded for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:18, 23-28
I am having my 5th chemo today and will have the last one on Dec. 22. I will have the Neulasta shot again tomorrow because my white cell count was still marginal. My hemoglobin is low so I am taking the alfalfa tablets (6 a day). They give me horrible nausea and heartburn but I need to do all I can to keep it up to avoid a blood transfusion. I was thankful this week to read the verses above that remind me we really don't know what to pray; our prayers are imperfect. But we have the gift of the Spirit to intercede for us according to God's perfect will. And God's plan works together for our good. Thank you as you join our Intercessors, the Spirit and our Risen Lord, in prayer for us as I continue to pray for you!
I am scheduled to see Dr. de Brux next week and hopefully the radiation oncologist soon. Dr. Gococo is still contemplating the electron radiation at some point and has some reservations about surgery without more consulting with Rippon, de Brux, and Wilcox. Hopefully by my next chemo we will have a game plan and be ready to start the next step in 4 to 6 weeks after my last chemo. Thank you for praying for all my doctors as they put their heads together to come to a decision. I know that the answer will be from the Lord!
"When faced with trials on ev'ry side we know the outcome is secure. And Christ will have the prize for which He died, an inheritance of nations."
Come, see the cross where love and mercy meet, as the Son of God is stricken; Then see His foes lie crushed beneath His feet, for the Conqueror has risen! And as the stone is rolled away, and Christ emerges from the grave, This vict'ry march continues till the day ev'ry eye and heart shall see Him.
So Spirit, come, put strength in ev'ry stride, Give grace for ev'ry hurdle, That we may run with faith to win the prize of a servant good and faithful. As saints of old still line the way, retelling triumphs of His grace. We hear their calls and hunger for the day when, with Christ, we stand in glory." (Getty and Townsend 2005)
"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God...And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, grown inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself interceded for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:18, 23-28
I am having my 5th chemo today and will have the last one on Dec. 22. I will have the Neulasta shot again tomorrow because my white cell count was still marginal. My hemoglobin is low so I am taking the alfalfa tablets (6 a day). They give me horrible nausea and heartburn but I need to do all I can to keep it up to avoid a blood transfusion. I was thankful this week to read the verses above that remind me we really don't know what to pray; our prayers are imperfect. But we have the gift of the Spirit to intercede for us according to God's perfect will. And God's plan works together for our good. Thank you as you join our Intercessors, the Spirit and our Risen Lord, in prayer for us as I continue to pray for you!
I am scheduled to see Dr. de Brux next week and hopefully the radiation oncologist soon. Dr. Gococo is still contemplating the electron radiation at some point and has some reservations about surgery without more consulting with Rippon, de Brux, and Wilcox. Hopefully by my next chemo we will have a game plan and be ready to start the next step in 4 to 6 weeks after my last chemo. Thank you for praying for all my doctors as they put their heads together to come to a decision. I know that the answer will be from the Lord!
"When faced with trials on ev'ry side we know the outcome is secure. And Christ will have the prize for which He died, an inheritance of nations."
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