Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Date for Treatment to Begin

Hi All,

I was at SCCA all day on Monday having tests done. It was a very long day. I sure wasn’t feeling well after all the stuff I had to drink and the stuff they put in me through an IV. I slept until noon the next day. I’m feeling better now.

I got a call from Dr. Thompson’s office yesterday and I will start the new treatment on Wednesday, July 2nd. I will start the day at 8:30 AM with a blood draw. At 9:30 I will see Dr. Thompson and at 11:00 I will start the infusion. I will receive one 90-minute infusion every 3-weeks for 24-weeks. If I respond well to the treatment I will then go into a Maintenance Phase where I will see my doctor ever 6-weeks for 24-weeks. At 24-weeks I will receive one 90-minute infusion and then every 12-weeks after that.

At any time the treatment can be stopped if there is no sign of the tumors shrinking or I am still getting more tumors. This means the treatment is not helping and there is no reason to continue it.

Please pray for wisdom of the doctor and that the treatment will do what it is supposed to do.

God’s timing is perfect timing. I know that I am in His hands and that His “grace is sufficient for me, for power is perfected in weakness”.

Love you all,
Karen

Thursday, June 19, 2008

God's Sustaining Grace

Hi All,

Again, I haven’t written for a while as I have been waiting for the doctor’s office to call so that I can get started on the new treatment that is available. Well, Tuesday morning I got the call. I have a 10:00 AM appointment next Monday the 23rd with Dr. Bhatia, Dr. Thompson's associate. At 10:30 I will have blood drawn and at 11:45 I will have bone and CT-scans. That is all I know so far. I should get all the details when I talk with the doctor at 10:00.

We have been on vacation in Leavenworth for the past couple of weeks. We have had a very relaxing time with friends who are building their retirement home on Icicle Road. We went fishing at Fish Lake on Monday and caught 17-rainbow trout. I pan fried one for dinner the other day. Yummy!

We tried salmon fishing on the Icicle River this morning but had no luck. We will try again at dusk tonight.

I was listening to a sermon by Charles Stanley on the internet on “Sustaining Grace”. If you have a chance to listen I highly recommend it. He was talking about Paul asking God three times to remove the thorn in his flesh and God didn’t answer him with a “Yes, No or Wait”. He told him that “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9) We have always heard that God answers our prayers in three ways but Charles Stanley pointed out the way that He answered Paul’s request and that was that His grace is sufficient for whatever Paul was going through. The same is true for me and for you. He will not give me more than I can handle and when I feel like I can’t handle anymore He says that His grace is sufficient for me and that through this difficult time that power is perfected.

It has really been hard waiting for a phone call. It has been totally out of my hands. The doctor’s office was waiting for the protocol to come through and they couldn’t hurry it up. I was waiting for their phone call and I couldn’t hurry that up. They had my number but nothing could be done until they got the protocol. It took a lot longer than I was first told that it would take. I had to keep reminding myself that God’s timing is perfect timing and there was nothing I could do to change that.

I have spent a lot of time in God’s Word these last few months. I have been reading the Psalms and Proverbs through by reading on the 1st of June Psalms 1, 31, 61, 91, 121, and Proverbs 1. On the 2nd of June I read chapters 2, 32, 62, 92, 122, and Proverbs 2. Can you see the pattern? Read the chapter with the same number as the day and then add 30 to it until you run out of chapters and then read the chapter in Proverbs for the same date. This way you get through the Psalms and Proverbs in a month.

We will be back in Everett Sunday, June 22nd. I will write more after my doctor’s appointment on the 23rd.

Hope you all are having a good summer. Talk more later.

Love you all,
Karen