parental updates

it's been awhile since i've posted about the cancer. i think in some way, i was hoping it would just disappear.

my dad completed the 6-month round of chemo initially prescribed. he got the results of the follow-up PET scan today. and the news, well...the news was good. it wasn't what my dad wanted to hear, but it really was good.

so, initially, his oncologist told my parents there were "multiple lesions," to me, meaning numerous...too many to count. and when he got his halfway checkup, the lesions were "20% percent reduced...some as many as 50% reduced." this, to me, means that he had a. lot. of. tumors.

and today, he and my mom heard that he has 4 tumors. 2 of them could be cut out today. and 2 of them have not quite shrunk enough. since that halfway checkup, one of the tumors has gone from 7 centimeters to 6.

y'all. that is a BIG tumor. possibly TWO BIG TUMORS.

there is no way my dad should have made it this long. his liver was just plum eat up with lesions. but my Almighty Father, the Great Physician, saw fit to spare him. to shrink those nasty tumors. and put doctors in our life that know just what to do for him.

not only did those tumors shrink and all but disappear, but the CANCER HAS NOT SPREAD.

y'all. merciful days. the cancer that so easily spreads...the liver is practically a conduit for cancer. spreads cancer like cheerleaders throw candy in the christmas parade. and that cancer is contained. praise the Lord.

please join me in lifting up praise to our God for sparing my daddy thus far. for shrinking those tumors. for knitting our family together. and for teaching us all that He truly does know the plans he has for us...no matter what that entails.

so we've got six more months of chemo - 12 treatments. the other good news is that the doc released him back to work. i truly believe that will be good for him, too...being able to have a reason to get out of the bed and into the shower and into the car. it's a different drug, and i sure couldn't tell you the name of it. but i can tell you that he is NOT excited about the chemo. it pretty much just makes him feel like crap. but i'm not going to pray that it doesn't make him feel bad. basically, you're pumping poison in your body to kill the foreign stuff. and that's not supposed to feel good.

and please lift up a little prayer, that this new chemo drug will shrink those last two tumors to a managable size, so that we can whack them out of him ASAP. i'm ready to NOT count white cells.