Hello everyone - I hope this post finds you well, prosperous, and full of joy and peace. I am so thankful for all of you; for your prayers, thoughts, encouragements, faith, love, friendship, and righteous examples. They keep me going and help me to not give up hope! Thank You : )
Well, I had scans on March 15th and a doctor's visit on March 19th. Before I tell you what the scans said, I must share an observation. Angela and I are getting good at reading the scan report and knowing if it is "good" news or "bad" news. In the cases of bad news, we have thought that the growth was significant (tumors increasing in size by 50% to 100%; metabolic activity increasing by 50% to 100%) and have gone to the doctor's appointment prepared for a very somber and serious reaction from the doctor with a recommendation for aggressive treatment. Each time, however, the doctor(s) seem to say, "Yes, they are growing, but they really aren't that big and are not in any scary places. Lets try the most mild treatment that we think is effective." I have appreciated the doctor's perspective in that it helps me see the big picture of my body and the tumors in that context.
With that, you may have guessed what the scans showed: bigger tumors, more tumors, and more metabolic activity : ( This is not the news we were hoping for, but we knew is was a possibility as I was on a very mild chemotherapy.
The doctors said we needed to change treatment to something more aggressive (as expected). They did say that the tumors were still relatively small and not in any really bad places. So, we are going to revisit some chemotherapy I had in the past that seemed to be effective. It will be like having old friends come to visit ; } (They were good about cleaning up the tumors, but took a toll on the body.)
We are going to do three, three-week cycles. I take the chemotherapy for two days and have 19 days off; repeat. The side effects are the usual: nausea, bowel issues, possible hair loss. I was talking to a co-working about the evolution of my hair with treatment. Thick, dirty blonde, full head to nothing to thin, brown, male pattern baldness to white to nothing to slightly darker brown, thin, male pattern baldness and now possibly nothing. I am getting very used to wearing a hat : )
I must say that Heavenly Father is so mindful of us. He inspired a family to bless our lives recently in a way that has given us something to look forward to - something to be excited about. Sometimes the unknown can be scary, but I have faith that this is all part of Heavenly Father's plan for us - all of us. We are not meant to live life alone. We are supposed to interact with others, sacrifice for others, serve and be served by others. We all have so much to offer Heavenly Father's children.
I know that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are real. They watch over us, inspire us, inspire others to help us, give us peace and joy. I know that Jesus was resurrected and all of us will be resurrected to. The pains of this life are but a moment; may we all endure it well. And, we still have hope for a bright future : )
Love - Doug -
