Major Praise!!

Posted on September 22, 2022 by Margaret

Today was a big day for us here In Rochester. We had the results of a scan interpreted to us by our main oncologist doctor.

To recap, I’d been on an oral, chemotherapy dose of 2 strong drugs that the research teams at Mayo were able to match genetically with the particular type of “small-cell” cancer I have. This meant that for the past 5 weeks, my treatment is nothing more than taking 2 pills in the morning and 1 at night, which would essentially “shrink” the cancer wherever it is in my body. Each person reacts differently so we didn’t know what sort of side effects I would have, how quickly it would work, or honestly, if it would work at all. The only way to find to is to try. Then, at the end of 6 weeks, do a CT scan and evaluate.

So here we are. I have 2 pictures here from that scan.

The scans are taken as if I were cut into .75mm thick slices like a tree.

You are looking up from my feet.

In the shots below, you have the 2 lungs in black and the spine, organs, and other arteries in the center in white. Notice how the left picture (July 1) looks much more crowded than the right (Sept 17). All of that milky looking white part that you no longer see in the right picture is cancer. Notice how much more clear and open the lungs are in the right photo.

The picture below is taken from the same vantage point and same dates. This shot is further up toward my head. I asked for this one because I wanted to see a shot of the largest tumor, “before and after”.

The scan said it went from 5.5mm to 3.6mm, but what does that look like?

In both pictures, I marked the tumor with a yellow square. The white squiggly-shaped area to the left of the tumor in the left shot and the circular-shaped area, also to the left of the tumor in the right shot, show a “before and after” picture of an artery coming into the heart. Notice how it’s nearly totally collapsed by the tumor in the left shot and wide-open in the right!

This is great news! We are praying things keep going like this. Of course there are snags along the way and the fevers this weekend are an example of that. Most of the time, I don’t feel great at all and I hope the feelings and symptoms change as the cancer decreases.

As for the pause in the meds, we’re resuming treatment Monday, pending a spike in my liver levels that showed a little concern today. Each patient responds differently to treatment and I wonder why I didn’t have fevers up until now. The Doc said he has seen patients taking the same meds where one has a totally different set of side effects than the next. I am unique, so we try a pause and resume. Hopefully, we get another 5 weeks of treatment without fever. If we do have to deal with the fever, we react to it and hope to be able to keep going.

After all, the best 2 words the Doc said today were, “IT’S WORKING!”

Of course who are praying people know God is the healer and in this case, he has given these research doctors the desire and skill to work on solutions for these problems that have baffled doctors from the beginning up until now. I am so thankful for whatever way God chooses to work. Even 10 years ago, these chemo drugs didn’t exist.

Thank you Jesus!

Cancer–Plus and Minus

Posted on July 29, 2022 by Margaret

Fighting cancer can be a full time job, and it’s not just the many doctor appointments and tests. It’s also the drain of committing to battle the disease. A cancer patient can fight and fight some more, yet still lose ground. Determining to continue, then, can wear a person down till there’s no fight left.

Nelson has had his highs and lows during his war against lung cancer and was pulled into another low just yesterday. Without an end-date to the cancer, it can seem like it’ll go on forever.

He and Ann Sophie were tempted to cancel a doctor appointment with a new oncologist yesterday afternoon, hoping to take a little time away from thinking about cancer, but the staff persuaded them to attend.

As it turned out, it was God’s rescue from the low. Ann Sophie said, “The doctor was very positive and filled us with hope.” He told them that Nelson had lots of reasons to be stressed but that he was handling it well, better than most in his position. This was uplifting to hear.

Ann Sophie said the doctor looked a lot like Santa Claus and made her wish they could stay and have him read stories to them all afternoon. Looking back on the day, it was clear that just when they’d needed a strong boost, God brought Dr. Santa Claus into their day.

It turned out that Nelson’s albumin level was extremely low, causing him to feel worse than usual. The doctor recommended he take in as much protein as he can eat or drink, and then as time passes, his levels will slowly rise, making him feel much better.

Dr. Santa also schooled them in how to take the first immunotherapy drugs, which Nelson did last night. The two pills, which had arrived via FedEx (one needing refrigeration) were to be taken exactly 12 hours apart, two hours after eating. So Ann Sophie went to work on making a chart to help keep things well regulated. What a blessing she is!

Dr. Santa said Nelson should be feeling a little better even at the end of the first week—more encouraging news. And it’s no small gift that the nausea of chemotherapy is now in the rear view mirror. Nelson takes no anti-nausea meds now, after having needed them daily. This, indeed, is progress!

“Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.” (Ecclesiastes 7:9)

A Pause

Posted on July 15, 2022 by Margaret

When I was growing up, Coca Cola had a long-running ad campaign that pictured happy people enjoying Cokes under a banner that said, “The pause that refreshes.”

We’ve come to be refreshed by a whole new kind of pause—a pause in cancer crises. For example, right now Nelson is in a measure of calm, and it’s a welcome rest from sudden bad news or blood numbers that cause unexpected strategy changes.

When Nelson and I agreed today that nothing noteworthy had happened in regard to his cancer, we decided it might be a good time for a refreshing pause. Thus our communication through the blog might take a few days off.

Before we go, though, we’ll bring you up-to-date. Nelson is still technically quarantining with his family (Covid), so doctors and others are trying to meet with him virtually—all except the daily blood draws. They lift the quarantine for him to appear in the lab each morning for a poke.

His next face-to-face is scheduled for July 20, an informal decision-making meeting. Nelson’s immune system is compromised, which is why he’s not to go shopping, to meet with other people, or even to end up in the hospital. He’s been advised against any family get-togethers except with those three in his same “pool.” That includes Ann Sophie, Will, and Astrid.

So like we said, there’s not much to tell. “Ahhh. Refreshing.”

If something unanticipated should happen, we’ll get a blog out to you asap. But please don’t think that an absence of posts for several days means calamity has come. It will mean the opposite, that all is well.

Meanwhile, we appreciate your willingness to pray: