Saturday 9 June 2012

Update on Mary: Oncologist Appointment

Mom had an appointment with her oncologist this week. The news was mixed. We'll start with the bad news: two months ago the doctors were wrong when they said Mom's cancer had not metastasized. It had metastasized to her lungs. However, the good news is that the three spots of cancer on her lungs have responded to chemo and all but disappeared.

In good news, her oncologist was very encouraged by the way her tumor responded to the chemo and by the improvement in her quality of life. Chemo is buying her time- we are so grateful for this. This week she started her round of chemo. She is scheduled for another two months, and then she will go in for another CT scan to evaluate the tumor. If the tumor has gone down again then she will consult with a surgeon. The oncologist supports doing so, but thinks that surgery is a long-shot. Still, even a small possibility is some possibility...

Mom's white blood count was much higher this week than it has been in the last month. Praise God and keep praying! Also, she has gained five pounds so she is no longer precariously close to the minimum allowed weight for the trial so all those delicious meals and desserts you all have been bringing by are working.

Prayer requests this week:

Please pray that mom passes her hearing test this week (Wednesday). It is a required part of the clinical trial, and if she fails she will not be able to continue.

Pray that her white blood counts stays up.

Pray that her tumor continues to shrink, shrink, shrink.

Pray for encouragement- the news about the metastasized spots was tough to hear- and cancer is hard to live with in general.

Please offer up some thanks and praise for my Dad. He is so diligent with Mom's medication each day, he spends so much time focusing on how to best care for her and meet her needs, and he just loves her so much. It is such a blessing that Mom has such a supportive and amazing husband. They are celebrating 34 years of marriage this weekend. God is good.

Thank you all for continuing to pray and for your ongoing support. We love it.

1 comment:

Heather said...

I love the picture of your parents.