Here's the latest news on my health.
I had a CT Scan this past Monday and the results are that all of the large tumors that they are monitoring have shrunk about 50-60%. So the treatment is working - praise and thanks to God and thanks to all of you who have prayed and encouraged me.
The doc said that for 20% of people, they can do nothing. For another percentage of folks, they are able to treat and stop the growth of the tumor(s), thus keeping it stable. For another percentage they are able to shrink the tumor some and for a smaller percentage the tumors go away completely. I asked the doc if I could reasonably hope to see these tumors go away and he said yes. Of course, my hope is in Christ, but it was good to hear the doctor say this.
What this means for the short term is that nothing changes in the treatment. I'll continue this course of chemotherapy, probably for another three months at least, or until the tumors go away. So, for those of you who are local, you can expect to see a smile on my face about this news, but don't look to see me dancing in the streets any tme soon. With the chemo going on I'm pretty exhausted and the exhaustion seems to be lasting longer with each treatment. But knowing that the treatment is working will help keep my spirits up when I can't get my body up and out of bed.
The good news in all of this is that I have been telling them that I want to go to our General Assembly in Orlando this June and the doctor and the nurse who is administering the clinical trial I am are thinking that's a possibility. They are doing some finagling to see if they can work the treatment schedule around that. The main issues on that, as far as I can tell, are that we could break momentum and secondly it could affect my standing in the clinical trial. With the trial you have to do everything just so or they kick you out of it. I don't want to leave the trial because I get closer monitoring in it and also they pay for some of the meds and scans, which will help with the insurance. Don't know if you know this, but insurance companies have a lifetime limit of something like a million or two, and I am a prime candidate to exhaust this, so it's good to have some of my meds taken care of.
But, all that aside, I'm optimistic I'll get to Orlando this summer so I'm looking forward to seeing all of my PCA brethren and also having a reunion with some of my old friends from college who live in the Orlando area.
As far as what this means long term it's hard to tell. I hope this doesn't put a damper on the good news of today, but with this kind of cancer they don't use words like "cure" or "remission." The kind of cancer I have evidently rears its head again and again. The doc thinks I'll probably have to have some kind of treatment every year. If the tumors go away they call that "complete response." If that happens then I'll just go see the doctor every month or so and I guess they'll just do blood tests or scans every so often to see if it comes back, then treat it when it does.
I'm optimistic about the future though, but this knowledge is a good thing for me in reminding me to live according to Matthew 6:34 and not worry about tomorrow's troubles. I don't presume to know the ways of God in this. I have often thought of the fact that Lance Armstrong got a very deadly cancer and has now lived nearly a decade cancer free. James Montgomery Boice, on the other hand contracted cancer and died soon after. Although Lance is an inspiration to all of us who have cancer, I think that Boice had a more necessary message for the world, yet God chose to take Him. Though I hope to live many more years, God doesn't owe me a long life but I owe Him my devotion each day of my life. So that's the frame of mind I'm trying to cultivate on a consistent basis.
So, I'm doing my best to enjoy the day and let God worry about the future and the days are indeed good. While you are praying for me please don't forget to pray for my family in general and Lynette in particular. She bears the biggest brunt of all this. Although I'm not terribly difficult to deal with (though I have my moments) I also don't have the energy to do a lot of the fun things we would ordinarily like to do.
Thanks again for all of your prayers and love.
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