Oncologist Visit
Our visit with the oncologist today again reaffirmed what everyone else has said. With the pathology reports all in, the diagnosis is what we have been expecting. We were very comfortable with the oncologist. We liked him personally and felt confident with him professionally.
Wayne will do a course of radiation and chemotherapy starting in a couple of weeks. The goal is to slightly prolong life as compared to doing nothing. It is not a cure and the general understanding is that it may add two to three months, depending on how your particular cancer responds to it. The treatment may also improve quality of life for a few months. If the cancer responds to treatment, it will shrink or remain the same for a while. This will give some time with the symptoms in a manageable state. But, in the end, it will grow again and will grow fast.
The brain is a difficult place to treat with chemotherapy because of something called the "blood brain barrier." The brain is structured so that it does not allow foreign agents into its blood supply. It is a staunch guardian of its blood. That means that chemicals that might impact the cancer cells cannot get through because they can't penetrate the blood brain barrier. The chemotherapy that Wayne will use is fairly new and they have more success with it than with other kinds of chemotherapy.
We will do 6 weeks of radiation and chemotherapy. He will also be doing physical therapy during that time, with the goal of learning how to work around the physical effects the cancer is producing.
Wayne has the worst form of the worst cancer known. But in the end, we are not putting our faith or confidence in medicine. If God's plan is to restore Wayne's earth-body, then a glioblastoma mulitforme is no problem to Him. The very same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work on Wayne's behalf and death or death-dealing diseases are no challenge to His power. We remain convinced that the full demonstration of His power on our behalf is not in Wayne's body, but in Wayne's soul. Bodies are meant to be disposable. The soul-- the essence that the body only houses-- will never know death.
From here, we can see eternity. It forms the backdrop for our daily lives. Our every conversation, the thoughts and intentions of our hearts, the smallest decisions we make-- everything is re-framed by the reality of forever. Nothing is fully contained by linear time. It all spills over into eternity.
What can I tell you about how things look from here? No grudge is worth holding and no hurt is worth nursing. Mercy and forgiveness form the cadence to which our lives march and play the rhythm to which our relationships dance. Giving and receiving grace is all that matters.
You are all precious to us. Your messages delight us and encourage us. You are the conduits through which His healing flows.
Wayne will do a course of radiation and chemotherapy starting in a couple of weeks. The goal is to slightly prolong life as compared to doing nothing. It is not a cure and the general understanding is that it may add two to three months, depending on how your particular cancer responds to it. The treatment may also improve quality of life for a few months. If the cancer responds to treatment, it will shrink or remain the same for a while. This will give some time with the symptoms in a manageable state. But, in the end, it will grow again and will grow fast.
The brain is a difficult place to treat with chemotherapy because of something called the "blood brain barrier." The brain is structured so that it does not allow foreign agents into its blood supply. It is a staunch guardian of its blood. That means that chemicals that might impact the cancer cells cannot get through because they can't penetrate the blood brain barrier. The chemotherapy that Wayne will use is fairly new and they have more success with it than with other kinds of chemotherapy.
We will do 6 weeks of radiation and chemotherapy. He will also be doing physical therapy during that time, with the goal of learning how to work around the physical effects the cancer is producing.
Wayne has the worst form of the worst cancer known. But in the end, we are not putting our faith or confidence in medicine. If God's plan is to restore Wayne's earth-body, then a glioblastoma mulitforme is no problem to Him. The very same power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work on Wayne's behalf and death or death-dealing diseases are no challenge to His power. We remain convinced that the full demonstration of His power on our behalf is not in Wayne's body, but in Wayne's soul. Bodies are meant to be disposable. The soul-- the essence that the body only houses-- will never know death.
From here, we can see eternity. It forms the backdrop for our daily lives. Our every conversation, the thoughts and intentions of our hearts, the smallest decisions we make-- everything is re-framed by the reality of forever. Nothing is fully contained by linear time. It all spills over into eternity.
What can I tell you about how things look from here? No grudge is worth holding and no hurt is worth nursing. Mercy and forgiveness form the cadence to which our lives march and play the rhythm to which our relationships dance. Giving and receiving grace is all that matters.
You are all precious to us. Your messages delight us and encourage us. You are the conduits through which His healing flows.
posted by Jennifer Kennedy Dean at 1:59 PM
2 Comments:
What an incredible faith, and your words in this time are a great ministry and encouragement to others.
i heard Jennifer speak at a Prayer Force conference in Raleigh NC on 11/3 and enjoyed her work with Fern. What a blessing this conference was to my daughter and me. i wanted to share with you the words to a song that has helped me and countless other through some very hard place that our Lord has taken us through. Thanks again for the blessings i received during this past conference at Providence Baptist and thank you for coming.
TRUST HIS HEART
All things work for our good, though sometimes we can't see how they could,troubles that break our hearts into sometimes blind us from the truth, Our Father
knows what's best for us, His ways are not our own, so when your pathway grows dim and you just can't see Him, remember He's still on the throne.
(Chorus) God is too wise to be mistaken, God is too good to be unkind, for when you don't understand, when you don't see His plan, when you can't trace His hand, trust His heart.
He sees the Master plan, He holds the future in His hands, so don't live as those who have no hope, all our hope is found in Him. We walk in present knowledge, but He
sees the first and the last and like a tapestry, He's weaving you and me to someday be just like Him,
He alone is faithful and true, He alone knows what is best for you, He whose heart is kind beyond all measure, gives unto each day what He deems best, lovingly its part of pain and pleasure, minglying joy with peace and rest. When you can't trace His hand, trust His heart.
Your Sister-in-Christ, Sandra
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