Underway

We've completed the first chemo and 2 of the 35 radiation treatments! So far, so good! Yesterday was long with lab work, then 4.5 hours of chemo IV infusion, then the first radiation treatment, and then Dr. Meredith "scoped" my throat for a visual "baseline" of the appearance of the tumor, (about 7.5 hours total). Today was much simpler and quick - just another radiation treament. The chemo I received is "Cisplatin" and came with about 2.7 liters (91 oz.) of fluid total, so bathroom trips were frequent! The radiation is IMRT type with about 7 different angles and various intensities. I also am on a "concomitant boost" program that adds radiation treatments in, so on Fridays I will receive two treatments, each at least 6 hours apart.
So far, I still feel well. I am thankful that the chemo has not caused me any nausea yet, but the week is young. The fatigue effect is creeping in, but expected. Next week the concern will be the lowering of my immune system, as the blood counts can drop significantly. So I have to be careful and pray to not get sick then.
We continue to be very blessed with the medical ministers we encounter at UAB. They are all so nice, professional and even ministering in their approach. I assume most in the cancer field of treatment must have somewhat of a calling to be there. The doctors, therapists, nurses, everyone is nice and patient to hear and answer all my (very many) questions. They seem to really care about each of their many patients in a personal way.
Although we know we cannot judge the long road ahead by this easy start, we find ourselves so thankful for so many things. If you wish, you can join us in thanking God for His mercy in the stage and type of cancer I have. There is much worse and UAB is a place to see it all. Thank Him for my having access to medical treatment for this, as most of the world today does not have this. Thank Him for my strong and loving family support - I am truly so blessed with the greatest immediate and extended family! Thank Him for our other friends that have been used so much of God to love us and pray for us. I have never felt so loved by the body of Christ. Pray for us to learn and then live out the purposes that God has for us in this. This stewardship is too valuable to be wasted. Pray that I might decrease and that He might increase in my testimony about this experience and His gospel. Pray that we would recognize the Divine opportunities He will place in our path through this to minister to others, as you have ministered to us. Pray for the grace and mercy to receive His provisions in faith, peace, strength, joy and hope. Pray that God will be glorified in all of this!
And you can pray for us in specifics. Pray that God would protect my body from the Chemo effects, especially my kidneys, immune system, fatigue and nausea. Pray that He would protect my body from the radiation, especially my swallowing, tongue, vocal chords, gums & teeth, salivary glands, spinal column, and other things in the radiation patterns. Pray that God would soon heal me from this completely, using the radiation and chemo, or any other means He choses for His greater glory.
"Thank you" is just not adequate to express how we feel toward all of you. Just as we have never felt so loved, we have never loved you more than now. We are deeply touched and moved by all your thoughts, calls, words, notes, acts of service, and the prayers! We are the most overwhelmed by "how great (literally "not from this world) a love has been bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God, and such we are."


"Jesus I am resting, resting in the joy of what Thou art;
I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart.
Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee, and Thy beauty fills my soul,
For by Thy transforming power, Thou hast made me whole."
Jean Sophia Pigott