Hello friends and family,
I would like to happily announce that this blog is being written from the comfort of my living room in New Era, Michigan. Ryan and Steve and I returned around 3:00 AM yesterday morning. It has been a very busy time trying to get things settled, organized, and for life to kind of return back to normal. To give some perspective, Ryan and I have only been home for about 6 out of the last 14 days! Naturally, there are a lot of bills to pay, laundry, housework, and bags to unpack (I hadn't even unpacked our suitcase from going to Zion for scans last week before we left again).
Ryan is doing pretty well, but has a long way to go before he's "normal" again. Right now his demeanor and stamina is kind of like what it is after he gets an infusion. But the story is, essentially he had a simple infection that has started to go systemic. Actually, because his white blood cell counts were so low, it advanced extremely quickly. He was pretty much fine last Thursday, and he was septic by Friday afternoon. He also had a small spot of his body that was hemorrhagic because of the infection, so his oncologist is giving Ryan another full week off of treatment to completely heal from this. That puts his next treatment around August 28th. That will be an entire month off, which is the longest he has gone for the last sixteen months without treatment. Although I celebrate that he has some time off to recuperate from a very, very long stretch of chemotherapy, I would be a liar if I didn't say that I was slightly nervous about losing ground.
Speaking of momentum, we found out from a CT scan this week that his tumors are dying quickly. The two spots that I mentioned he still had last week had shrunk noticeably in only one week. We are praising God for this news, as it finally seems like we have struck the right chord in treatment. Radiation? New chemo regimen? New nutritional lifestyle? Just simply God's timing and healing? We aren't sure which combination of those four things it is, but we are grateful that the Lord has chosen to move in this way.
We are also extremely thankful for the people that helped us through this. We are especially grateful for Steve, who accompanied us on what was SUPPOSED to be a short trip to the ER, and turned out to be a multi-day ordeal in Zion. Cathey and my parents took care of Colton and Tuff, our dog. Corey picked us up when Steve's car broke down and took us to Zion, and then he let us use his car the rest of the trip. Chad, Ryan's friend and coworker, looked after our horses and even made sure that they made it to the farrier. Lots more people offered their help and support. And we could not be more encouraged and grateful for the support that people have given us through our blog and Twitter and Facebook. We are floored by the love and the excitement and concern that people have demonstrated to us the last couple of weeks.
In spite of the unexpected infection and hospital stay, we have had a VERY positive August. We could not be more thrilled with the news we've received and are riding a tidal wave of happiness. Medically speaking, Ryan should not be alive, and he should not be doing as well as he is. By God's grace, we are in this position, and we give Him all the glory and honor.
Showing posts with label cancer shrinking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cancer shrinking. Show all posts
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Update!
Brief update as Ryan is getting a few things done to him by his nurse...
1.) We met with the doctor this afternoon. He is pumped and thinks that Ryan's prognosis is just amazing and miraculous! The fact that it is out of the lymph nodes is really, really encouraging. He said that we're starting to enter into "uncharted waters" because there are so few Stage IV cholangiocarcinoma patients that reach this point.
2.) For the time being, we are going to do four more cycles of 5FU/Erbitux before we do more scans - this will make the next scans sometime around mid to late October. He might be restaged at the next scans.
3.) Around the bend: pending the results of the NEXT scans, we are going to look at possibly meeting with a surgeon (!!!!) to get the rest of the tumors OUTTA there. <--- That means REMISSION, folks!
4.) Unfortunately, Ryan's counts are so low that we are not able to do treatment this week. He is going to get 3 neupogen shots this week and we'll try again next week - yes, that means another trip to Chicago. :(
1.) We met with the doctor this afternoon. He is pumped and thinks that Ryan's prognosis is just amazing and miraculous! The fact that it is out of the lymph nodes is really, really encouraging. He said that we're starting to enter into "uncharted waters" because there are so few Stage IV cholangiocarcinoma patients that reach this point.
2.) For the time being, we are going to do four more cycles of 5FU/Erbitux before we do more scans - this will make the next scans sometime around mid to late October. He might be restaged at the next scans.
3.) Around the bend: pending the results of the NEXT scans, we are going to look at possibly meeting with a surgeon (!!!!) to get the rest of the tumors OUTTA there. <--- That means REMISSION, folks!
4.) Unfortunately, Ryan's counts are so low that we are not able to do treatment this week. He is going to get 3 neupogen shots this week and we'll try again next week - yes, that means another trip to Chicago. :(
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
What a week
Excuse me if this turns into a ramble. I've got so much on my mind including chemo brain. Things are a little fuzzy right now but I'm going to do my best.
First, Praise God. Wow, what an incredible blessing and surprise. I have never doubted that God was always able to shrink tumors, but I have wondered if he would choose to. Quite honestly as I waited in that tiny room I was hoping and praying for the status quo, that things wouldn't have progressed. I was very doubtful that shrinking might be an option. After the last scans which showed no change, our doctor said if things were going to shrink they probably would have by then. That was hard to hear.
I still knew God could do anything, the options just seemed to be getting more limited. So when the doctor came in and told us that things were shrinking we were totally caught off guard. It's a fine line between making your requests known to God and praying in confidence, and trusting in God's sovereignty.
For the tumors to start shrinking now defy medical logic. However it completely is within God's logic. His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts higher than our thoughts. So as I often pray Lord help my unbelief.
This is great news, incredible. We're partying like it's __________ (fill in the blank with some random year ending in nine). God has answered our prayers in a physical tangible way. This is nothing short of a modern day miracle in my mind. I'm still not sure how to handle it. Things had been so apprehensive for a couple days and especially the few hours before the appointment, that when we got this news, it was such a surprise. It took a while for it to sink in, it's still sinking in.
But this is also just a first step. As I told Kendra so many times before the appointment, "Bad news doesn't mean we have no hope, and good news doesn't mean I'm cured". No matter what news we got it is still going to be an up and down battle with setbacks and progress. There is still so many things that have to go right and so many things that could go wrong between now and a transplant. It would be years away.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't, aren't, or won't celebrate God's goodness for today. He has chosen to bless us with a period of wonderful news. Heading into Thanksgiving and Christmas we will have a new miracle to praise Him for.
We will maintain treatment as long as it is working. Let's pray for a long, long time of that, unless God should choose to shrink things even faster.
I believe there are two reasons God has blessed us this way;
1. God's Sovereignty. Only He knows ultimately why things have started to turn around. It is a part of His plan and He is still in control.
2. The prayers of the saints. There are so many people praying for us that it is overwhelming. People literally all across the world, organized prayer chains, intercessory prayer teams, friends, family, strangers, and so many people that we'll never hear from. I've met so many new friends that introduced themselves as, "hello, I'm so and so and I've been praying for you!". What an incredible blessing and gift all this prayer is. God hears our prayers. Today He has answered. Please keep it up.
First, Praise God. Wow, what an incredible blessing and surprise. I have never doubted that God was always able to shrink tumors, but I have wondered if he would choose to. Quite honestly as I waited in that tiny room I was hoping and praying for the status quo, that things wouldn't have progressed. I was very doubtful that shrinking might be an option. After the last scans which showed no change, our doctor said if things were going to shrink they probably would have by then. That was hard to hear.
I still knew God could do anything, the options just seemed to be getting more limited. So when the doctor came in and told us that things were shrinking we were totally caught off guard. It's a fine line between making your requests known to God and praying in confidence, and trusting in God's sovereignty.
For the tumors to start shrinking now defy medical logic. However it completely is within God's logic. His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts higher than our thoughts. So as I often pray Lord help my unbelief.
This is great news, incredible. We're partying like it's __________ (fill in the blank with some random year ending in nine). God has answered our prayers in a physical tangible way. This is nothing short of a modern day miracle in my mind. I'm still not sure how to handle it. Things had been so apprehensive for a couple days and especially the few hours before the appointment, that when we got this news, it was such a surprise. It took a while for it to sink in, it's still sinking in.
But this is also just a first step. As I told Kendra so many times before the appointment, "Bad news doesn't mean we have no hope, and good news doesn't mean I'm cured". No matter what news we got it is still going to be an up and down battle with setbacks and progress. There is still so many things that have to go right and so many things that could go wrong between now and a transplant. It would be years away.
That doesn't mean we shouldn't, aren't, or won't celebrate God's goodness for today. He has chosen to bless us with a period of wonderful news. Heading into Thanksgiving and Christmas we will have a new miracle to praise Him for.
We will maintain treatment as long as it is working. Let's pray for a long, long time of that, unless God should choose to shrink things even faster.
I believe there are two reasons God has blessed us this way;
1. God's Sovereignty. Only He knows ultimately why things have started to turn around. It is a part of His plan and He is still in control.
2. The prayers of the saints. There are so many people praying for us that it is overwhelming. People literally all across the world, organized prayer chains, intercessory prayer teams, friends, family, strangers, and so many people that we'll never hear from. I've met so many new friends that introduced themselves as, "hello, I'm so and so and I've been praying for you!". What an incredible blessing and gift all this prayer is. God hears our prayers. Today He has answered. Please keep it up.
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