The Lord's Been Good - Part 2

During the beginning of May, Joel found a lump on his neck.  With his history we were a bit concerned that it could be cancer again.  Well, the day that we brought Ella home from the hospital the results of his CT Scan were in the mailbox and it confirmed that the lump is just a cyst.  This was the best possible news we could have gotten.  We will probably not have it surgically removed because it isn't bothering him, and we would like to try to get his body to dissolve it.  We are extremely blessed, not just because Joel doesn't have cancer back, but because God is faithful to provide His peace even when our future is uncertain and our days are chaos.  

Official Scan Results

We had an appointment with Dr. Cole (our medical oncologist) on Monday.  The scan we had in August 2010 showed that the tissue was 18mm crosswise.  It is now 14mm in one spot.  A little lower it was 16mm and has shrunk to 12mm.  So it basically shrunk by 25%.  Dr. Cole was really happy with these results and said that she would be surprised if it would shrink any more in the future.  We were encouraged by this news because Joel has not had any chemo or radiation since the last scan.  She wants to see us in 6 months for a check up. 

If we ever need a reality check on what cancer can do to a body, all we need to do is sit in an oncologist's waiting room for any amount of time and just watch the people coming in and out.  I can't even describe how it makes me feel.  I feel so blessed to be where we are, and yet so unworthy that I am sitting by a healthy husband.  I am here for a purpose.  To Glorify God.  I don't want to be at all distracted by this world and my own desires, that I only give God my leftovers instead of all my mind, soul, heart and strength.  It is a potent reminder for me.

Results!!!

We just heard back from Dr. Cole's office, and they said that the mass has definetly shrunk since Joel's last scan in August of 2010!  We will learn more specific details at our appointment on the 25th.  To God be the glory that He is due!!!  Thanks for praying with us.

Coming Soon...

Last week Joel got a call from Dr. Cole's office saying that they had gotten a CT Scan scheduled.  It had been way over a month so we were beginning to think that they either forgot about us or it didn't get approved by insurance.  So on Wednesday he goes in for the scan and hopefully soon we will hear from the Dr's office with the results.  Even typing this puts a tingle in my stomach.  Am I ready to know what the tumor/scar tissue is doing in there?  Once again I have an oppurtunity to practice continually putting all on the altar, including the person that is the most precious to me.

Cancer Update

Many of you probably know that Joel was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma in the fall of 2009.  Here is the most recent news.  He has been doing some testing here, and in February it looked like his lymph system was getting more congested than what we would like to see.  In the beginning of April the numbers maintained.  We were hoping they would get better.  So we decided to do a different test to see how well his body was doing concerning cancer.  If you want more info on this test click here.  He scored a 53.  1 - 49 means cancer is doubtful. 50 and above is a positive reading.  We would have loved to see it below 50, but were really glad it is as low as it is.  This could just be the remnants of the lymphoma.  This has also motivated us to find a doctor in the US that we can work with.  Tomorrow we have an appointment with Dr. Terry Chappell who works with the immune system along with other things for his website click here.  On a whole, Joel normally has lots of energy, a good appetite and feels good.  In this past month there were a couple days where he had some pain or discomfort in his abdominal area. We didn't know if it was his appendix, kidneys, or something else so we went to Dr. Dale yesterday and everything seems to look normal.  So for now we are encouraged and looking forward to meeting this new doctor.