We Travel On...

It is Friday afternoon, August 27th about 5:44 PM and we are here at CTCA, Zion Illinois getting another chemo treatment. The weather is beautiful - no rain or storms. God is in Heaven and things are progressing well.

The really significant event so far this trip is that the CEA has dropped dramatically. It has gone from 28, three weeks ago, down to 17. It had been up as high as 36 about 8 weeks ago. The chemo drugs are working on the cancer! CEA is a cancer marker in the blood that indicates active cancer tumors. Normal is about 5 or less.

We are so thankful for the prayers and concerns from our family and friends! We encourage you to continue to remember us in your prayers and please feel free to call or email us at any time -- or come see us!!

It is so easy for me to become discouraged and down and there are times when I feel that I am not providing the kind of encouragement that Arnie needs so I need your prayers too.

Keep in touch with us... I will keep you informed as we continue our travels down this road.

Party time!

Well we had another good blood test today! The counts are all within the normal range. Side effects from Erbitux are very much present - which is actually what we want to see although they are annoying - rash on exposed skin and sores on the inside of the lips. Arnie says in a way this is worse than the diarreha which he always seems to be saddled with, although that seems to be under control at this point.

We had our family party at our house this past weekend -- very nice!! It was nice to just kick back and have fun for a couple of days! I think everyone enjoyed it!

Going to CTCA again soon. Please keep us in your prayers.

The war goes on...

Another battle has ended but the war goes on. We got through another round of chemo treatments and have returned home. Arnie felt bad during the actual treatment and that continued into the next day but felt surprisingly good on Sunday. Still a little apprehensive about the diarreha. The supplements continue to work, making the side effects manageable. Arnie plans to go into work this week if he continues to feel good.

God continues to provide for us. On my Facebook page today, what scripture reference do I see but Jeremiah 29:11... "For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." That is the verse that has appeared to us several times in the past - as you can read about in a previous post. There it is again!!!

Also in today's devotional from Dr. David Jeremiah (Turning Point) his scripture reference is from Philippians 1:6... "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it..." The quote at the end of his devotional reads..."If your progress seems slow while it appears those around you are engaged in remarkable success, just remember: Patience! God is not finished with you yet!"

I always appreciate these messages that appear because I find myself needing a boost as we continue on this journey. I need to be strong to be able to encourage and support Arnie as we fight this war.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers! God is answering!

Friday the 13th

Yes, today is Friday the thirteenth and we are getting phase 2 of the first cycle with the new chemo. We have discovered that two infusions are considered a cycle with this chemo so this completes the first cycle with this infusion today.

The Doctor seemed pleased with Arnie's status so far. They have prescribed an antibiotic cream to help with the skin rash that has appeared as a side effect. This is the side effect that we wanted to see because it indicates that the chemo is working.

The day started with the blood draw and port access being delayed by about a half an hour this morning causing events for the rest of the day to be delayed as well. We are just now getting the infusion - about 45 minutes later than scheduled.

This may be Friday the 13th but it is not an unlucky day for us! (We actually don't believe in luck).

Remember us in your prayers. We know that God is in control of our lives.

It's a beautiful morning!

It truly was a beautiful sunrise this morning!!

All is well with us... God is good!

Please keep us in your prayers.

Journeying onward!

We forgot to get the weekly blood work done yesterday, so it was done this morning. It is done and faxed to CTCA. Results are still good -- white blood count is within the normal range -- red count is still a little low, which goes along with receiving chemo treatments.

Arnie went to work this morning. The side effects of this chemo are very much there, which we are told indicates that the drug is working on the cancer. Normally side effects do not indicate whether the drug is working, but with Erbitux, you especially want to see the rash.

It is present and kind of annoying since it is on exposed skin, which includes the face, but there are remedies for the itching and redness. He is also taking an antibiotic to prevent any infection.

Cancer still remains a real nuisance!! We are on a 2 week schedule for infusion treatments.

Please keep us in your prayers as we will be traveling soon and getting another treatment.

Thank you for your support!!

Today is Friday -- Arnie went to work today and I have had this day to myself...to ponder and think and to do things around the house. We are continuing our journey and I feel we are doing pretty well.

I became aware yesterday that Cancer Treatment Centers of America offers many different treatments for metastasized bone disease, which is what Arnie now has. There are treatments and include chemo of different kinds, surgery and radiation.

I just happened upon a web page about the treatments and it happened to be from CTCA. The video that was part of the page was extremely encouraging and I couldn't wait to share it with Arnie who felt the same encouragement as I did.

Encouragement is a good thing. Had a visit this afternoon from a neighbor -- so nice!!

I so enjoy the comments left on this page. Each one means so much - more than you can know --and I appreciate all the expressions of love and support.

God bless each of you!

Continued progress

Today is blood test day again and the results are very good. Compared to the last one, these readings are better -- red blood count is in the normal range this week instead of being just below the normal range.

Still appears that the supplements, chemo and PRAYER is working! The further we get away from the infusion, the better Arnie feels -- in fact he has gone to work today, for a half day. Tomorrow may be a full day. It is good that his employer is being so understanding and compassionate about his situation -- reduces that stress quite a bit!! I am sure it does him a lot of good to be able to go into work, even if it is just for part of the day... makes him feel useful.

Keep praying! God is good and He is providing for us as we continue to travel this road!

Jeremiah 29:11

Amazing!

Usually when we travel to and from CTCA in Zion ILL, the trips are what we could call "uneventful" which is good... no accidents, etc. But the trip home the other day was a bit different. We were not involved in any traffic accidents, although we did see one. We were in stop and go traffic - 5 lanes of traffic - for about an hour until we reached the accident and then the traffic jam was gone... suddenly we were traveling the speed limit (or over it!) and it was as though nothing had happened.

As we were continuing on our trip home, we were passed by a vehicle, a gray or silver SUV with a sticker on the back of it that said..."Jeremiah 29:11". We looked at that and both of us wondered why that scripture reference and why not "John 3:16" or something more familiar.

The scripture was not written out, just the reference so I got my Palm out and found Jeremiah chapter 29 and verse 11 and read what it said. After reading it, we realized that it was the exact verse that was on a plaque that our daughter had given to her dad just before our first visit to CTCA back in April. It reads... "For I know the plans I have for you" declares the Lord, "plans to prosper and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." It brought tears to my eyes when I realized that it was the very same verse that is on that plaque.

I truly believe that God speaks to us, through people or events and of course from His Word. We had just gotten news that wasn't exactly what we wanted to hear, but there was definitely comfort in those words from God's Word!

What was even more amazing about this was what my daughter, Pam, said to me in an email when I relayed this incident to her. " I remember when I bought that plaque. I got it at Gifts of Joy and I saw it but didn't pick it up. I walked around looking at other stuff and twice was back at that. I felt like I was supposed to get it. Glad I did!!! It was meant for Dad"

I would say that this trip was NOT uneventful!

God is good...please continue to remember us in your prayers! We know that He hears and answers!