So we aren’t exactly traveling to Oz on the Yellow Brick road, but we are traveling down a path that continues to bring change, anxiety and concerns. Thankfully we are not in search of a heart on this journey…..our family is all heart! A search for courage is not necessary…...dad has displayed courage throughout this enitre ordeal. As for a brain….that seems somewhat ironic since we are dealing with brain cancer. And alas, we know there is no powerful wizard in Oz to cure our troubles. What we do have is our faith in God who is the ultimate healer!
To catch you up, dad met with the oncologist last Friday and received the anticipated news that his next chemotherapy session will be his last session before moving on to radiation. He will go back into the hospital on April 2nd . The unexpected news was that he was getting three weeks off between treatments instead of the normal two weeks. The extended ‘vacation’ is due to the national shortage of the methotrexate that is used in his course of treatment. The availability of this drug may mean the difference between life and death for cancer patients across the United States. Let me pause here to give a great big thank you (NOT) to all of the greedy and non-compliant drug manufacturers that have contributed to the drug shortage, and in fact are responsible for this crisis. I hope the executives of these companies are able to sleep well at night and do not have loved ones who are in need of the drug for treatment. I digress….
During our initial meeting with the oncologist we listened as he described the protocol he would use to treat dad’s cancer. The treatment is based on his type of cancer, location and dad’s age. Therefore, we have known from the beginning that the expected treatment would be chemotherapy, radiation and intraventricular chemotherapy….in that order. Those combined treatments offer the best chance of successful results. So it’s a little bittersweet that dad will finish this first phase after his next chemo treatment and then we move on to radiation. Realizing when I say ‘we’ it really is ‘he’….He is the one enduring the treatments, bravely moving on, finding the strength to face the ongoing treatments. One thing you can be certain of is that ‘WE’ will be right there with him every step of the way. At the moment we have very little information about the radiation treatment. With some persuasion dad was convinced ( he may say forced) to proceed with scheduling an appointment with the radiation oncologist. A smart decision by the ‘girls’ since available appointment was several weeks out. He, I mean we, will be meeting with him mid-April. I struggle with wanting to know more about the radiation treatmen vs. remaining clueless until we really have to know. Maybe it is my own coping mechanism but I really want to focus on just taking one step at a time and facing one challenge at a time. I am not one to relinquish control easily but in this case I know that God is in control and I need to take rest in that. In the meantime my prayers for complete healing will continue!
I have had this blog forming in my head for a few days now and when I get to work today my desk calendar verse says:
The Lord hears good people when they cry out to him, and he saves them from all their troubles. ~Psalm 34:17
I love when God puts someone or something in my path that reaffirms that HE is in control, HE is big enough and HE is all we need!
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