Tunneling

The picture is from Amsterdam in 1988. The tunnels seem appropriate because of what is happening tomorrow. I was with a group traveling to Africa and we had a fifteen hour layover, so we got to see some of the city. 

For four or five months I have experienced shortness of breath and since May have had some occurrences of chest pain when I exert myself (climbing stairs, walking a good distance, etc.) I kept hoping it was something that would go away as some of my cancer treatment medications were finished, but it has not. So, today, Wednesday, April accompanied me to see a cardiologist. The short story is that tomorrow, I will have a heart catheterization to really see what is going on. Pray as they tunnel their way up to my heart through a vein, that if there is something they will find it. When they find it, pray that it can be fixed while in the cath lab. We are not sure if this is related to cancer treatment, or being 69 years old with some family history of heart disease, or a combination of the two. Still, I want to get it checked out, and this is the best way to tell. Pray that God is glorified through all of this. 

On the cancer front, I am still in the clinical trial, and the creepy number keeps creeping upward. A change may be coming to my treatment, but nothing definitive yet. 

Thanks for your prayers

Mountains and Valleys

The picture above doesn’t have much to do with what follows, but sometimes fighting cancer does seem like climbing one mountain, then descending to the valley, and then up the next one, each getting a bit higher and higher. (The picture, by the way, was made at Three Crosses (Tres Cruces) between Omas and Ayviri. Tres Cruces is able 12,000 feet.)

These verses from Isaiah 40:4-5 come to mind: “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”

These verses are from a prophetic passage about the coming Messiah, but they speak to me as well. God will be glorified. That is what I desire. 

Yesterday (8/6) at my Emory appointment, our PA noted that my numbers continued to creep upward, and that we might be looking at another treatment sooner rather than later. Of course, that is disappointing. I probably won’t know the results of Tuesday’s test until Friday, but hopefully then I will get an idea of the pace at which things are going. It will likely be a few months  (I hope) before things go up to a point of having to discuss a treatment change. We talked a little about future options with our PA, but not a lot. The good news is there are options!

I am a little bummed, as I was hoping I would get a year to two years out of this current treatment, but it looks like that isn’t going to happen. Multiple Myeloma is stubborn.

Here is how I ask you to pray:

Pray that the IgL numbers slow their climb, or go back down! (That would be nice!) 

Pray also that this will not interfere with a mission trip in October and a vacation trip with my son in November. 

Pray that God is glorified, that my treatment will become more effective, and side effects will be minimized. 

I will keep you posted. Next appointment at Emory is September 3.

Normal. Sort of.

The chart pictured here is one of my latest reports. The picture of the dryer control reminds us that "normal" is a setting on a clothes dryer. I believe Erma Bombeck, 
a writer and humorist well known in the 1960s through 1990s, is due the credit for that little statement. 

For cancer patients, "normal" is a precious and often elusive goal. We want our numbers to be normal. For those of us with blood cancers, our doctors do lots of blood tests. They do them often. The tests are the first look to see how things are going. There is one test in particular that lets me know if the treatment I am receiving is effective. It looks at my "Free Lambda" or "IgL" number. "IgL is one of a number of immune globulins all of us have in our blood. They work together to fight off infections. Sometimes, though, they go rogue, and that means cancer. 

Since early this year, I have been in a clinical trial at the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University Hospital because it seemed like the most effective option after my previous treatment began to lose its effectiveness. I have just taken the last treatment in the "intense phase." I have a week off. Then I start the "maintenance phase." 

As you can tell from the chart, as soon as the trial began, that Free Lambda number dropped quickly. After a few cycles it actually hit normal, but has been creeping up since. However, that is not a big, bad, thing. The chart gives perspective. I may not be "normal," but I am a long way from that peak in the early part of this year. As my PA said, "We will ride this as long as it lasts." Would I like to be in the normal range? Of course! There is a lot I want to do. Hopefully maintenance will be a long phase, and maybe the numbers will actually creep toward normal. 

Where is God in all of this? Right in the middle. Christians affirm that the world is broken. It has been since Adam and Eve. Diseases, along with many other things, exhibit that brokenness. Yet God provides for those who will believe in Him and follow Him. This is not faith in faith, but faith in Christ, who paid the penalty for our sin when he died on the cross and rose again three days later. (See 1 Corinthians 15:3-8). He is faithful. He will listen to our complaints. He will answer our prayers, but not always in the way that we might want. Christ followers look forward to a better place after this life, so we endure what this life brings and trust Him to bring us through it. 

What is your part in all this? Please pray. Pray that God is glorified, the treatment works, and side effects are minimized. And pray that the number creeps downward. Thanks! Your prayers mean more than you know. 

Eucatastrophe

About a month ago, while sitting in the chair in the Infusion Clinic at Winship Cancer Institute at Emory in Decatur, Georgia, I had the pleasure of meeting a new friend, who introduced himself as an "Art Therapist." We talked awhile, and he asked if I would like to draw something. I explained that my drawing or painting would likely end up with an unintelligible result. This is why I take pictures.

So, Art (yes, his name is Art) asked if I would like him to draw something for me, and that seemed a far better idea. He showed my a few banners he had designed for his church to use this year on Easter, and asked if I would like something like one of those. I picked one, and as he turned a blank sheet of paper into a work of art, we chatted about all kinds of things, from faith, to family, to fighting cancer. It was a good time, good conversation, and I was able to bring home a memento of that hour. Thanks Art!

Recently I have read two books that have mentioned a word coined by J. R. R. Tolkien, "eucatastrophe." The picture that Art drew for me and the word coined by Tolkien speak to what Christ followers celebrate this weekend. "A catastrophe is an unexpected evil, and by adding eu as a prefix, he expresses the unexpected appearance of goodness." (Vroegop, Mark. Dark Clouds, Deep Mercy (p. 192). Crossway. Kindle Edition. )

Yesterday, Good Friday, Christ-followers remembered the great sacrifice of Christ on the cross to pay the penalty of the sins of all who would believe in His resurrection, which we celebrate tomorrow, Easter. Friday may have appeared a catastrophe, but Easter brings us to the eucatastrophe. Thanks be to God!

From the Apostle Paul:
Romans 10:9-11 (ESV)
"if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

1 Corinthians 15:3-8 (ESV)
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep.7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.

Following the Path #2

October 2018, Peru - A farming family brings their animals home from  a day a grazing.

A few mornings ago, I was reading and writing about the events found in the Bible is 1 Samuel 7. When I came to verse 12, I remembered being in Ukraine in 1995. Some friends and I were visiting some believers, and we were meeting at their church building. During a break we took a little time to see their auditorium. On the wall high above the pulpit and choir loft were words in Ukrainian that I could not read, but the reference was decipherable: 1 Samuel 7:12. Looking it up, I found the words, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” It was so appropriate in such a setting, in a country where faith in God had been mocked, attacked, and in many cases violently suppressed for ninety years. The encouraging reminder was painted on the wall to remind the people of God’s help in the past to encourage their trust in Him in the present and future. 

It is good for Christ followers to look back and see how God has gotten them to where they are. Seeing His hand in our lives past encourages us for the present and future. It isn't just about dealing with a cancer diagnosis, but all kinds of ways and circumstances that God works in to take us to places, people, and more. Think about how thus far God has helped you. When I do that, I am grateful.

Medical Update
Today I began cycle three in the clinical trial I am in for Multiple Myeloma at Emory's Winship Cancer. Last week I could not have treatment because my platelet count was too low (24). I ask several of you to pray that things would rebound. Today it was 204. The Nurse Practitioner I saw said that she had seen numbers come up often with a week off, but not that much. Thank your your prayers! He gets the glory. 

We won't know the results of the tests that really tell us what is going on with my MM until next week, but they expect nothing but good results. Once again, keep praying that 1) The meds work, 2) The side effects are minimized, and 3) God is glorified. You know I consider your prayers as the main thing in my treatment. 

Tom

Following The Path #1

On a Mountain Road in Peru.

I continue to follow the path laid out for me in the new cancer treatment. Except for taking pills everyday, I have completed the first cycle in my new cancer treatment. Thanks for your prayers. Side effects are minimal, drives to Emory tolerable, and I am seeking to glorify God. He has been so good, how can I not do that? 

Next Tuesday, on Cycle 2, Day 1, I hope I will get to hear some blood test results that will tell us whether the new stuff is beginning to work. Pray that way, please. 

When Trouble Comes

This week, I received a newsletter from a missionary friend who has some chronic health challenges, and she included the following quote from Joni Earickson Tada

Ephesians 1:3 - “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,"

When a particular trouble intrudes into our life, it has a way of taking over. It dominates our thoughts, controls our emotions, saps our will, and drains our energy. Eventually, it crowds and bullies every good thing out of our day. As God’s children, we can’t let that happen. Today’s Scripture tells us God has blessed us in the heavenly realms. He’s given us peace of heart and mind—something the world craves but can’t find. He’s given us faith to pass through deep waters. He’s given us the grace to give and to let go. He’s given us the sweet knowledge that we have an eternal home in heaven, waiting for us just around the bend. He’s given us His own Spirit as Counselor and Comforter. He’s washed away our sins and forgotten our evil deeds. We have more going for us than His own angels, who have never tasted such grace. 

God, there are times when I give in to my pain or surrender to my anxiety, allowing these troubles to fill my heart with dread or fear. In such times, I ask You to remind me of all the gifts You have given me. Help me to wash away the dark thoughts with fresh gratitude and heartfelt praise.

Tada, Joni Eareckson. A Spectacle of Glory (p. 76). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. 

First Cycle First Week, In The Books

No matter the weather outside, the ceiling in the waiting area of the Infusion Lab at Winship Cancer Institute at Emory always is sunny and bright. Great idea. 

Today marks the completion of the first week of the first cycle of the clinical trial I am now enrolled in at Emory. I feel very encouraged to be able to participate. So far side effects are minimal. Thanks for your prayers. Trusting that it all works and God is glorified. 

The picture above reminds me of some words of Jesus found in Matthew 5:45b: "For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

Cancer is hard. So are other diseases. But I am thankful that God's "sun" and "rain" include treatments that are getting better and better. 

Thanks for your prayers. Prayer is the main ingredient in my treatment. 

Something Different

Lima, Peru, October 2018. We could not exactly figure out what this contraption was, but we guessed it was an older version of the Flux Capacitor.

Something Different

Test results sometimes vary, and mine has. The genetic marker that showed up in my 2016 tests failed to appear in my most recent tests. That means I cannot be in the first trial, but I can be in another, so here we go—at least that is where we are right now. For a while, it will mean a couple of trips to Emory each week, and all the meds of the first study plus one. Cancer patients receive a "cocktail" of several meds, and those cocktails vary from cancer to cancer, and even patient to patient. (These, by the way, are the only cocktails I have ever had.)

Prayers are greatly appreciated. Pray that the meds work, side effects are minimal, and God is glorified.

For those who want to know more, private message me on Facebook and I can give you more details.

Convergence

Traffic in Lima, Peru, October 2018

Convergence

Traffic in Lima can be interesting. Here we see two busses that appear to be converging to squash the fellow carrying the produce. Everyone got through the traffic jam safely with no injuries or bent metal.

There appears to be a convergence of treatment regarding my cancer. So much is happening so quickly. 

Back in November I wrote about some changes in my Multiple Myeloma status. After another visit to Emory’s Winship Cancer Center last Tuesday, here is where I am headed—a clinical trial. Let me say at the start that I think this is good. It is NOT a last ditch effort to keep me around, but a course of treatment that seems to hold the most promise for me right now. There are multiple other treatment options, and those remain as a possibility for treatment later on, or if I don’t get accepted into the trial, or if the trial meds don’t work as expected. 

I have to go through the prescreening process, which is tomorrow, January 29. It involves blood work, x-rays, and some other fun things, but we assume that I qualify based on previous test results. Once that hurdle is cleared, we will set up a treatment schedule and get on with it.

The trial involves a medication already approved for the treatment of certain types of leukemia (CLL). The medication is called Venetoclax. About 15% of people with Multiple Myeloma (MM) have a particular genetic marker, and for those people, this medication seems to be very effective. That is what the trial is about. 

I will also receive a couple of other medications. Cancer patients are often recipients of a combination of medications that help fight the disease. Venetoclax is a chemotherapy medication. I will also receive an immunotherapy medication called Darzelex (daratumumab), as well as a steroid. 

Please pray all will go well tomorrow, including the travel to Emory and back, and that if this is God’s direction for me, that I will be accepted in the trial. While the medications are amazing, prayer is the main ingredient in my treatment. Always. 

I will post again when we know the results of the tests. 

Blessings,

Tom