A "Rest Week" Medical Update

As I write this morning I'm waiting for my lymphedema massage. A few weeks ago I didn't know that such a thing existed. It has been an interesting rest week. I would have to say that the side effects of the fifth round of chemotherapy have been the most diverse. The doctor says that this is because of the cumulative effects of the of the treatment. I'm still getting the hot flashes, a few sleepless nights, and days when I'm not hungry and then other days when I'm ravenous. The edema has been better, but it is still causing “restrictions” on my lifestyle. The doctors plan on giving me medicine and treatment for the edema after the chemotherapy clears my system in a couple weeks. Thank you for your continued prayers on this.

I will begin the last week of chemotherapy next Tuesday the 20th. I will still have to take my five days of Prednisone after that. That will complete the first full round of chemotherapy. I will need to get at least two months of rest from the chemo. July and August will be months of testing. The plan is for me to have a bone marrow biopsy in July which will determine if the lymphoma is in the bloodstream. Then, in August, I will get another PET scan and visit with the doctors at Stanford to see where I'm at with the cancer. The results of these tests will determine the next step in my treatment.The doctor is expecting to harvest some stem cells from my bone marrow at some point late in the summer, in case the cancer recurs. I hope and pray that doesn't happen, but it will be a good idea to have these available if I need to do more extensive chemotherapy in the fall.

Joyce and I would like to be making plans for our future, but this is just not possible right now. We hope to have a better idea of where we're at by the end of the summer. In the meantime we plan to rest during the summer. We have been accepted to a cancer camp at Mission Springs in Scotts Valley the weekend of July 9th and we plan to go. We are also hoping to spend some time with family and friends. I am also hoping that I will be healthy enough to teach some online classes at PIU in the fall while I'm here in California. But we will see. Again, thank you for praying for Joyce and I. We appreciate your prayers very much and are hoping that we can see some of you while we are here in the US.