My State [Praise]

This is going to be a long one...

Taking a cue from a world leader I decided that perhaps I should write something down about how I am doing after this my 8th chemo round, and my first one for this year. I had received a few questions about it  since I got back so I thought I would detail some of it in case some of you had missed it, or maybe I hadn't written it.

Lets start with the tumors: My last pathology report from my PET/CT scan, back on my birthday, finally showed up in my "lab reports" section so we were able to see what kind of numbers we were looking at when they said, "It's been going down!" The way it works with the report is that they pick a couple places in the scan and rate those places, and also report on any new growth. So since we have been going to the same pathologist for the past two years we have a pretty good ability to tell how things have grown or what-not because he picks the same spots. The last three scans (since July) we have started to see a dramatic decline in the life of the tumors. I don't know that they are GOING anywhere, as they still show up on the PET/CT scan, but their metabolic rate has gone down a whole point or more each scan. For example one of them went from 7.4 to 5.8 to 4.6 over the last few scans. I really don't know what happens when they hit 0... if they are considered "dead" or "dormant"?

My reaction to the drug (which is considered a high dose) has been lessening over the past four months as well. Going from last year at this time spending ten days in the hospital and taking a TON of different things when I got home to manage blood levels, pain, etc etc. At this point I take an anti-nausea pill the week of chemo and then a few days after. I also take pain killer and cough suppresent (same drug), but that is the only one I take on a daily basis. Because of this my bounce-back time has reduced. On Thursday I went to our small group, which was just a week after I completed chemo. Four days after chemo (Monday this week) I worked four hours.

I haven't been to the ER in what feels like forever. The last time I went to the ER was the chemo time before they started my on the anti-nausea drug.

We've moved closer to the hospital and are spending a LOT less time in the car every week. (Down to two to four hours a week vs twelve to sixteen hours from before) Our new place is not only closer, but it's slightly bigger so we can host friends and family who might want to come to visit us, and it allows Lisa to have an office space so she can work when and as long as she wants without disturbing me.

We spent the month of December in Seattle with family and friends and had a wonderful holiday season. Lisa and I decided that it was perhaps one of the best Christmas's we have spent as a married couple.

When it comes to health insurance and that fiasco, due to your generosity I have covered a part of the huge (86k) yearly cost increase I helped incur. My personal medical bill is a little over 1400 dollars a month, which has ended up being covered by some of you. (OC still has a sizable hole in their budget because of having me on staff and these medical costs, so I would still like to ask if you have been thinking about donating and helping me out that you still can. My job at OC relies very heavily on other people's support to help support missionaries around the world, and with a huge hole like that those cuts are going to have to come from somewhere, and I need to be adding to my budget (staff and equipment) not having it cut. So anything you can do to help me, helps OC, and the more than 600 people I help support around the world. < / plug >)

Job wise because we have been closer Lisa has been able to work more hours and get involved in more projects. Also because of my bounce-back I have been able to get back to work quicker between treatments as well. My stamina isn't great by any means (four hours of work totaled me for the following day) but I have a clear mind in which to do it, and with the proper pacing I can get my hands "dirty" more often. (Those of you that can work full-time, be thankful for that, only being able to work four hours and then sleeping the next two days because you are so worn out is kind of hard.)

With all these things grouped together Lisa and I are at a place where we are asking ourselves, "What Next?" Yes, I still have a fight on my hands, but we have more free time due to our location and I am more coherent more often despite needing to get chemo every month. Besides continuing to pray for my health and "Death to Tumors!" the thing you could pray for us now is, "What Next?". God has us here for a reason and has kept us here at the moment for a reason (as opposed to allowing us to return to Colorado), and we want to figure out what God would have us do.


~B.
[ Prayer request? | Help Us? ]

Putting the foot down

In the next few weeks they are going to draw my blood originally three times a week. It ends up being seven because they want to make sure I'm not crashing. Which is fine, but in the past year and a half of this I have crashed once, and I know darn well what that feels like. So this week they are going to get three blood draws.

Yes, we are closer, but it's still a needle in my body. This is me saying you get what you need to keep me alive, and that doesn't involve living at the hospital. (I'm close enough as it is...)


~B.
[ Prayer request? | Help Us? ]

Like the waves

Hey Team,
Sorry it's been so long. Thursday, Friday, Saturday and even today I am still dealing with a migraine that slipped in behind me as I was finishing up chemo and I am still dealing with residue making the inside of my skull feel like jello. (Not, I am sure, helped by the after-effects of chemo leaving the body either.)

We're setting back into life here in Houston after our little month long adventure into the Northwest. One of the things I have been really thinking about for this year is about how I am going to do the things I would like to do during those times when chemo isn't squeezing the life from me. For the time being I have come to the conclusion that letting myself rest when I am not in a position to be working, and then to go absolutely full steam the two or three weeks I might have to feel well. Really dive in and tackle projects, put in long hours when I can, and then just relax and be calm maybe some some little compiling things here or there when I am "down".

In other news yesterday Lisa went for a bike ride and I staid home, and when she got back I helped facilitate this recipe: Cauliflower Crust pizza. Let me say, it's nothing like pizza crust. Was it good? Yes. Did it lack any form of bread? Also yes. We put sautéed onions, mushrooms, sausage and peppers on the one we ended up making. I'm not really sure what to think... it could have been both better and much worse. But I'm not entirely sure I want to put the time into doing it again to "perfect" it. As a fan of bread there really isn't any incentive for me to perfect a crust made entirely from cauliflower.


~B.
[ Prayer request? | Help Us? ]

The (Weekend) Chemo Update

Hey Folks,
I really dislike chemo. I was feeling great five days ago, now I feel horrible. I spent all that time trying to feel better and this is what I get in repayment? All kidding aside, these rounds have been going ok. Nothing horrible to write in about, but also nothing really fantastic. Loss of brain power, ability to type, hooked to a pump for eight days. The usual.

Unusually though, we got out of bed this morning to find our water pressure gone to non-existent. It appears that in their excitement to do road work in such fine weather we are having currently here in Houston (slightly overcast and in the low 70's, seriously, it's really nice out there.) that someone forgot where to mark where the water line was. So while they resume work we'll be waiting for four to six hours it takes to shore up/replace/fix a bull-dozed water line. This really only is a problem for Lisa as she will be home today while I am at the hospital. (Though I suppose she could always change her mind...)


~B.
[ Prayer request? | Help Us? ]

The Trend Continues

I think perhaps I have become just a little bit jaded when it comes to news from my oncologist. I'm the type of person who when faced with potential bad news run the worst case scenarios through my head so I'm not "surprised" when I get the news. I've gotten better about it as this cancer stuff has gone on (Not doing it, not getting better at doing it...) and even though the past few times I have gotten PET scans the news has been good (stable, with lessening metabolic activity) I can't help but think that that trend won't continue. It's a good thing what I am thinking and what my tumors are doing aren't the same thing, because this afternoon I was informed that the trend is in fact continuing and the metabolism of my tumors has gone down again. The place they have been using as a reference point was at a 7.8 the first time the metabolic rate was down, then the time before last it was 5.6, now it's at 4.6. (On a scale of 0 to 22)

God has really been answering those prayers team! Please continue to pray for increased tumor death, and don't forget to thank God for what He is doing.

An interesting note: before we left my doctor was implanting my tumor in some rats so that he could do some tests. Turns out (I don't know if he knew this before or just found it out) that my tumors won't grow in animals. Their bodies reject the tumors. Thus no animal testing for my type of cancer.

Thanks again for the continued support and prayers!


~B.
[ Prayer request? | Help Us? ]