Outa My Way, Bully!

I have heard it said that when a member of the family has cancer, the whole family has cancer.  I have to say that I understand the truth in that, having learned it painfully from losing a sister to cancer in 1997, having a daughter diagnosed in 2014 and another sister diagnosed in 2015, and learning I had it myself in December of 2016.  It is still hard for me to even use the word, cancer!  It is an intrusive bully that dominates schedules, thoughts, and general wellbeing of all those who are close to the disease.

During those times when the bully distracts us from the important things in life, there are things that we can fight back with.  Someone gave me a list (I don’t know where she got it) of things cancer can’t do that I’d like to share with you.  It is titled, “What cancer cannot do.”  “Cancer is so limited…It cannot:  cripple love, shatter hope, corrode faith, destroy confidence, kill friendship, shut out memories, silence courage, reduce eternal life, or quench the Spirit.”  As I thought about it, that could be said about any adversary we face.  It could be health related, domestic trouble, church issues, job situation, etc.  They are all so limited. 

Here’s another great promise to hang on to.  “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?  Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written:  ‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’  Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” –Romans 8:35-39

I received some great news from my oncology doctor on Monday.  The blood test showed, for the third time, that there is no detectable cancer in my body.  She said I am “way ahead of the curve” in my recovery, which will take up to two years.  That was a great encouragement, but I wondered, if I have another 19 months to get better, I will be a super-hero!  I feel great, with very little residual pain from the injured ribs as well as the surgery. 

I’m so blessed by all my official family, as well as my unofficial family.  The outpouring of your support, love and prayer is humbling and gratefully received.  I love you all.

It Is Finished

As Dr. Trinh did at our 10:30 appointment this morning, let me just get right the results:
PSA level is ZERO, which is the news we were hoping and praying for!  Good news!  Exhale and a fist bump from Tim!

Now, as Dr. Trinh did, let me back up and unpack this a bit.  Back at diagnosis in December, Dad was presented with basically two options: treat with hormone therapy or have a total prostatectomy.  After weighing the pros and cons of each and praying for wisdom, he elected the surgery.  It seemed logical- if the prostate is full of cancer, then get it out!

On February 23rd he had the surgery.  The doctor was very optimistic that day about things 'looking good' and initial pathology yielded good margins.  The date was set for April 10th to recheck PSA levels via bloodwork.  We were told that zero was the goal.  Anything more than zero would require further action to be taken by means of hormone therapy.

I know this has been a burden for Dad, after all, it's cancer.  And cancer is no respecter of persons.  It doesn't matter your age, gender, ethnicity, religion, creed, socioeconomic status, or even if you're a good, bad, healthy, or unhealthy person.  It doesn't even matter if you are a pastor.  It's terrible!  But since surgery day, I had confidence that he'd be ok.

Last night, we had our 2nd of 5 performances of "The Passion of the King" at my church.  During the performance, today's appointment weighed on my heart and I began to grow anxious about the pending results.  But then I watched the "whipping scene", and thought, "He took those lashes, those stripes for Dad."  Then during the crucifixion scene, as they dragged Jesus to the cross, Isaiah began to prophecy,

But he was pierced through for our transgressions
He was crushed for our iniquities
Our sins and transgressions fell upon Him
And by His stripes we are healed.

As the scene finishes, above the thunder and lightning and building music, Jesus screams three words.

It  is  FINISHED.

I didn't hear the audible voice of God, but He spoke to my spirit, "It is finished."  I burst into tears.  He took it ALL upon himself- sin, sickness, shame.  The work was complete.

So, we rejoice today!  PSA level is ZERO.  Dad walked out of the office like he was 10 years younger and 100 pound weights had shed from him.  Tim, Dad, and I went to lunch to celebrate.  (Christina was home sick.)  When he told the server his good news she literally danced for him.  Twirled and threw her arms up in victory and then threw them around Dad's neck and hugged him.  And then she danced again.  She did on the outside what I was feeling on the inside.

So now it is our responsibility to grow from this, to learn from this, and to give God glory through it.

Dad still has a ways to go in recovery.  Pray for him.  He's still experiencing some pain and other side effects, all of which the doctor assures us is 'normal' and should be resolving in the coming weeks.  Good thing because he's anxious to get back on his bike!  They will monitor him closely for a while to be sure nothing else creeps in.

It's unbelievable to think that our immediate family was touched by this twice in the last couple of years.  We are incredibly grateful for those of you who have loved us so well.  Thank you for the cards, visits, for standing with us, for meals, for filling the gaps, and mostly- for the prayers.

Have a blessed Easter as we celebrate the RISEN King of Kings, the HOPE of all the world.  Enjoy this song from another cancer survivor.
Click here.

At the cross the work was finished
You were buried in the ground
But the grave could not contain You
For You wear the Victor's crown

Love,
Amy

Heads Up!

Psalms 3:3 says, "But Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head."

As the body recovers from any injury, sickness, or surgery there are some days that are better than others. Yesterday started out as a regular day and I was looking forward to seeing the babysitters Christina had lined up to come over, because she had to work.  First, there was a really dear couple who live nearby who popped in around 10.  Amy and Tim were going to come around 1 and do a kid exchange.  The day felt optimistic at the beginning, but as it wore on, I just felt glum.  It wasn't overwhelming pain, depression, or anything I could put my finger on, just a culmination of everything, including possible side effects from drugs?

In the late afternoon I was a little better.  One of our grandsons FaceTime'd to me to ask if we could think about setting up a time to go fishing. It was like a breath of fresh air, out of the box, from the lips of a seven-year-old. We took a ride out to pick up the balance of the new blood thinner medicine from the pharmacy.  As we were on the way, I got a call from the urologist's office to fill me in on the  lab analysis of the offending prostate that had been removed. They said they were pretty sure they had gotten all the cancer out.  That was a boost and I was feeling pretty good as we pulled up to the drive-thru at the drug store.  As the girl was getting the pills, she asked if we wanted to put it on the gift card.  We told her we had no gift card, and the poor girl became flustered as we tried to give her our credit card for payment and she was trying to convince us to put it on a gift card.

Finally, Christina and I figured out that someone had purchased a gift card with instructions to use it for the meds!  We tried to figure out who might have done it.  I told Christina, as we drove away in a daze, that God did that!  God and a very sneaky friend.  Maybe we will find out who someday, but I'm not counting on it.

As if to top that, we found out this morning that our Rx insurance will pay all but $27 per month going forward, rather than $408/month. These are the kinds of things I must remember if I hit one of those days when I'm glum or bummin'.  Indeed, He is the lifter of my head!

"One of my favorite people! Renna turned 5 on Monday!"

Surgery Success

I'm happy to report that Dad's surgery went exactly as planned!  The surgeon (who we all thought was great!) was very pleased with what he saw and what he was able to do.  No complications, no surprises.  That is answered prayer!

He's resting comfortably and in very capable hands.  Christina will spend the night and they will hopefully head home sometime tomorrow.  Then the work starts of keeping him tied down to rest and recover!

Thank you to all who have been praying today and for your continued support through this journey.  Thank you for loving my Dad.  He's a pretty remarkable guy!

Now our prayers are specific.  We are trusting for his PSA levels to drop to zero (as in no.more.cancer) when they test in a couple of months.  We are trusting in God's goodness and faithfulness.  Tonight we rejoice!  We give God the Glory in all things.

Love,
Amy

Clear Scans

Dad received the phone call today that his bone scans are clear and the doctor is confident that the cancer is contained to only the tumor on the prostate.  This is wonderful news!  It has not spread further, which hopefully means it will be straight-forward and easily treated.  He will have a more sophisticated, localized MRI done at the end of January and then we should get a treatment plan.  Tonight, we rejoice in this very good news!