Cancer Routine and Brief Medical Update

A few people have asked me what I have been doing lately. Since mid-March, after the kidney failure crisis and diagnosis of my T-Cell Lymphoma in February to early March, I have somewhat settled into a routine of cancer treatment, recovery, rest and my new normal daily life. I do have a lot of time to think and I struggle a bit with my new realities and finding day to day purpose, but God has ministered to me in some very real ways and I am learning a lot about myself outside of what I do and ministry. Anyway, here is a basic daily schedule of my routine the last 3 months as Joyce and I struggle together for my cancer recovery and move forward day to day. Of course, this is sometimes interrupted by a medical procedure or ER trip but this is pretty much my Monday to Saturday schedule.

8.00 – Breakfast; usually cereal, banana, coffee and some kind of protein.I also take a handful of vitamins and medications

9.00 – 10.30 - Generally, this is when I go to the doctor. Every 3rd Monday I get a chemotherapy infusion which lasts until about noon, but in between I get almost daily shots to build up my immune system. There are few days when I don’t go to the doc and then I get some extra reading and study time.

10.30-1.00 – This is my devotional, Bible study, and posting time. I read and post from the New Testament on M-W-F and from the Old Testament on T-T-S on my blog and Facebook page.  This is usually the time when I have the most energy.

1.00- 2,00 – Lunch. I try to get a high protein lunch. I have to take Prednisone for 5 days after each chemo infusion. I also need to take in a lot of liquids to keep my kidney healthy. After lunch I try to move around a bit, walk etc. This is supposed to help my edema.

2.00-5.00 – Reading, study, nap time depending on how energetic I feel. I have been listening to some good theological, biblical and academic lectures on Youtube and some other sites. I have read some good books on theology of healing and some other good theological works. I have also knocked out a few novels – even some sci-fi. Sometimes I have just enough energy to close my eyes and nap or listen to music. I like to play a little Soduku and Scrabble

5.00-6.00 – Get up, move around and exercise. I need to not be lazy and and do this. Some days I just don’t feel like it, but the doc says I need to do this more.

6.00 – Dinner

6.30-9.00 – Hang out with Joyce, my parents etc. Lately my dad and I have been watching a lot of NBA playoffs and college World Series on television. It has been a nice time to re-connect with my mom and dad these past few months.

9.00 Generally I go to bed about 9. In March and April I pretty much was sleeping from 9pm to almost 8am. Since my body has been recovering a little lately I am sleeping a little less though about once a week I’ll sleep for about 10-11 hours in a night. One of the nurses told me the best way to beat cancer is to get a lot of sleep.

So that’s it. On Sundays my routine changes so that I watch church services and listen to sermons on Youtube all morning after breakfast. I have not been able to attend church since December because of my immune system and edema issues. I really do miss that kind of fellowship, but I have heard several good sermons from several sources. I have especially enjoyed Tim Keller.

My routine is about to change in the near future. The sixth and last chemotherapy session of this round will take place on June 20. After the 3 week recovery period, I get a 6-8 week “rest” so that my body can recover from the chemo. The next event on my schedule is probably a procedure to remove some blockage from my urinary system. I have a doctor appointment tomorrow to find out more about that (Monday the 5th). The big events of the “rest” period will be a bone marrow biopsy in July and another PET scan in August at Stanford to see where we stand in the battle with the T-cell lymphoma. My Fall schedule will be determined by what they find in those tests. I am glad to have good medical people looking after me and blessed to have people all over the world praying for me and caring for us. Thank you! We are in God’s hands, the best place to be.