First of all, this entry is really directed at all our FB friends since FB won’t let me post anything quite this lengthy. So this is for all you who have been following the Chronicles of Carol on my FB page. Many of you have been praying and posting and emailing encouragements for us and we are blessed by you all. Some of you really deserve a private email from us and Lord willing we’ll get there. This update will help you understand where we have been since my last post on FB.
Last most of you heard we were headed to Stanford to get a second opinion on a surgical option for Carol. As most of you know the breast cancer she has been fighting the last year metastasized earlier this year into her liver. That’s pretty bad, really bad to be honest. Kaiser turned Carol down for surgery so we looked to Stanford as a very good alternative. The surgeon we talked to described himself as a very “aggressive” surgeon and that is what Stanford is known for, pushing the boundaries of what is possible. When we finally got to talk with him he also turned carol down for surgery, not that surgery is not possible, but that with the removal of half her liver could create even more problems than she had before the surgery. Long story short, he was not convinced that surgery was the best thing for her considering how fast the disease is progressing in her liver. It is not currently showing up anywhere else that we know of.
That very weekend we had to make two trips to emergency with Carol for abdominal pain and high fever. While in emergency they ran a full set of new tests including CT scan, x-ray and multiple blood tests. Since the last tests of this kind were a month earlier and more tests a month before that we were able to get a very good look at the progression of the cancer. Bottom line is that all the chemo Carol has done for the last 3-4 months has done nothing and the cancer continues to grow; now taking up most of the right lobe and part of the left lobe of her liver. After a very difficult consultation with her oncologist we have come to the place where the disease has turned a corner. We have simply run out of treatment options. Our decision now is whether Carol wants to keep trying chemo or stop the treatments. She hasn’t had any chemo since July 27th. She has not yet made a decision about that and we continue to pray.
If we look to the doctors, they have all but thrown in the towel. We can understand why from a human perspective. But where we end up is entirely in the hands of God, really where we have been all along. And perhaps the best place to be. Only the Lord knows what is next. After out traumatic weekend and a week’s worth of some pretty nasty drugs, carol is feeling much better. She has stopped working since her energy level really is not up to that so she is here at home and doing fine. As I like to tell people, if you met her on the street, you’d never think there was anything wrong with her, she looks great. But the scans don’t lie and we know what we are up against. We have meds should she need them but right now she is not taking anything. We have looked into and researched all kinds of alternatives and found many to be without any credibility at all. (“Eat only pork rinds and your cancer will disappear!”)
So, for the time being we are waiting on the Lord, praying our guts out and trying to make good, well educated decisions. With God’s grace we’ll be heading to Kauai soon for a little R&R as well. We could both use it! Keep the prayers coming and I’ll try to do better about keeping the updates coming…feel free always to send us a private email or even a phone call, we love hearing from you all.
This verse keeps coming back to me…
“Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” (Job 2:10)
God bless you all.
If Christ is not the hope of your life, I question whether you have any hope at all.
If Christ is not your highest aspiration, then you are aiming too low.
Trust in Him, now and always, He has never let me down.
Grace and peace to you all,
Brian and Carol