CT is Clean!

So my third post-treatment CT came back clean, and even the area that was affected by radiation damage was not as pronounced. The doctor was very impressed with everything - I love seeing the oncologist smile!

The other piece of good news has to do with the follow up. When I started this journey, I was told that I would have 4 CT's a year for 3 years, then 2 CT's a year for 2 years, and the magic number was 5 years, where the chance was recurrence was very unlikely.

Today I was told that with all changes to treatment with lung cancer, those numbers have changed as well. Now I need 3 CT's a year for 2 years. After that it is annual exams. What this means is that the magic number of years for a recurrence is 2 years instead of 5. I only need to do three more CT's and I reach the magic number! Oh, yes, God is good!

So there is my good news today. Blessings upon you.

Celebrating One Year as a Cancer Survivor

A year ago at this time I was still in the middle of surgery. I would wake up to find out that I had an extra tumor of a different cancer on my heart and that they surgery was at least two hours longer than expected.

I would also have a friend spill his coffee over my bed within an hour of making to my room - something, even in my medicated haze, I will never forget :)

What a difference a year makes!

Today I met with the Radiation Oncologist and received a good report. The lung function sounds good, the upper lungs moving more air than the lower lungs, but not a big deal. There are no bumps or nodules he could feel. Overall a good report and he said that this is another lap down, just keep taking the laps as we move on with this.

Tomorrow I go in for my 3rd post-treatment CT and I get the results from the Oncologist the following Wednesday. Overall I am feeling very positive about it, things seem to be going well and the breathing issues from the radiation damage have actually gotten a little better. I know I will be nervous going into that meeting, my blood pressure is always the highest when I meet with Dr. Vogel, but I am sure that the end results will be good and I will not be back for another 4 months.

Thinking back in everything that has happened in the past year, it is so easy to see the hand of God every step of the way. There have been blessings upon blessings throughout this journey, and I thank all of you for being a part of the journey with me - I couldn't have made it as easily as I did without you.

Next Wednesday I will post results, until then - God Bless.

Lazarus Sunday

Today we will hear the story of Lazarus, the friend of Jesus who died and was brought back to life. It is a powerful story that opens our eyes, once again, to the power and love of God. And the image of new life is something I have been reflecting on a lot as of late.

This week is a rather emotional week for me. On Friday I will be celebrating one year as a cancer survivor, because on April 15, 2010 I had the surgery that removed the tumor from my body. On Friday I will also be having my 3rd post-treatment CT Scan. With all of these scans I know in my head that things will be fine, but I still get nervous that something might pop up once again.

So it is a big week for me on a personal level, and it is a big week in the church because it is the last week that we have mid-week services and we will be entering into the march to cross next Sunday.

So you can see how the issue of new life is one I have been reflecting on. New life in the second chances we are given, new life in the ways our eyes are opened so we celebrate everything we have in this life, new life in the promises given to us by the God who loves us, new life in the way these promises hold on to us when we are struggling.

So this weekend, may your eyes be opened, once again, to the new life that God showers upon you.

Mud, Spit, and Sight

This week I will be preaching on the story in John's gospel about the man who was born blind and healed by Jesus. It is a story of healing, of new sight (and new life), and the power of the God who walks among us, cares for us, and loves as we are.

It is also a story that is dirty.

Earlier this week, the girls and I went into the backyard to play. it was a warmish day and the playset had been calling to them, esp. to Scarlett, so off we went. At first, Scarlett just climbed up the ladder and slid down the slide, but as time went on, she changed activity.

It was then that she found the sandbox.

Ahh, yes, the sandbox. A wonderful place to dig and bury and get as dirty as possible. And that is what she did. She was in that sandbox for nearly an hour, and you could by looking at her. And when I took her out to clean up before dinner, she cried like crazy.

Every day since then she has begged to go into the backyard and play in that sandbox.

Dirt is so much fun to play in (I still like to:), and it is an essential part of creation. In the lesson I am preaching on this weekend, I see how God uses this dirt, this part of creation, to make someone clean - and it always amazes me.

God using the unclean to make clean.

God using the broken to make whole.

God using death to make life.

What an amazing God we have - and what a blessing that he keeps coming to us, loving us, and caring for us.

One year later - the Surgeon

One year ago I met the surgeon who eventually took this cancer out of me. That was a very long, very strange day. A year ago, it was on a Wednesday, in Lent, so we knew that we had services that evening. Jen and I decided we should have a friend go with with us, a retired doctor, to help process some of the stuff that would be said. This was a good plan, because the surgeon was running late, three and a half hours late, and Jen had to go back to worship before we got in to see her.

In fact, Jen only met her once, for about 1 minute right before the surgery. The rest of the time the doctor would come after Jen had left.

But for me, the most important part of this day, and what I truly celebrate, is that this doctor was the first one to use the word "treatable" with me. Before this there was no talk about being treatable, only what we would do for treatment. She told me I was in the top 20% of the people she saw, and it was treatable. I remember leaving that meeting and just floating because there was such a sense of hope.

A year later I am so grateful for this doctor, and as much as I love her, I hope to never go to her office again. She is gifted and gives hope, and a true blessing I will always treasure.

One year later - first meeting with the oncologist

As I think back to this day one year ago, it was probably one of the more frightening days of my journey. As a pastor, I had met with a number of people who had seen oncologists. It was one of the few doctors that I feared, and that was because of the disease he focused on - cancer. So when I was first told that I needed to meet with Dr. Vogel, my blood pressure went up, this meant it was real, I had cancer.

Dr. Vogel is a brilliant man who serves people who are facing life-threatening diseases daily. I truly admire him and the work he does, but to this day, I still get nervous when I have an appointment with him. Again, it is not him, it is the disease and, now, the fear of recurrence.

But at that first meeting, we were not sure what to expect. Jen and I already knew I would be having surgery, but the rest of the treatments were up in the air. So as we sat down and he went over the scans and biopsy, we started to see that there would be more than just surgery.

One thing that impressed me at the beginning was that he already had an idea what caused the cancer. His assumption, which turned out to be right, was that I had a genetic mutation that affected a very small percentage of white males under 40.

So I was/am special:)

But he picked up on that right away. He then went through the surgery and finally said, after surgery we will have radiation and chemo too.

This was the first bombshell, esp for Jen. At this point we were hopeful that it would only be surgery, but to add radiation, and esp. chemo, that sent up more warning flags.

How would I react to the chemo?
How would the girls react?
How much extra work would Jen need to do, at home and the office?
And the list of questions went on.

Looking back, again I was very blessed. I handled the treatments very well and the congregation was an amazing blessing to us every step of the way. It could not have gone smoother.

It is so nice to be able to look back and see those blessings, and see the hand of God every step of the way on this journey.

At my next meeting with Dr. Vogel I am sure I will be nervous again - waiting for results from my April 15th CT Scan. But I am also reassured, because I see God at work in this process and in my life, and I have an oncologist who is a true blessing to me.

March 22, 2010 - One year later

As I think back to March 22, 2010, I realize that it is a day that things became more real to me. It was this day that I had a breathing test. Now the test itself wasn't that big a deal, my lung capacity was good, quite good actually, but it was also one of those times that reality set in. as I sat in that little glass tube and blew out a tube in my mouth, I started to think, "How will my breathing be affected after the surgery? Will I be able to run around with the girls? What does this mean for walks around the riverfront with Jennifer?"

But it was also a moment of hope. As I sat with the tech who as doing the test, she told me about the surgery I would probably have. It turns out it wasn't that kind of surgery, but the fact that she sat there and took time to ease my mind, that was a blessing in itself. She also told me that my lung capacity would not be affected that much. Initially she was right, it was the radiation that has affected my lungs more than the surgery.

Looking back the test helped me get a better grasp of what was going on, and it helped move me forward to get ready for the next step of the process.

Tomorrow - One year after my first meeting with Dr. Vogel, the Oncologist.