Health Update

Friends and Family-

  I wanted to let you know about a family emergency we are currently going through. About 6 weeks ago, Chris got very ill with what we thought was a nasty flu virus.  He spent a week in bed and never really seemed to recover his full strength and energy. He continued to run really high fevers, lost weight, had a chronic cough along with body aches and pains, and required lots of naps. The most disturbing thing was drenching night sweats almost every night, requiring him to change clothes and the sheets several times a night. Thankfully he continued to seek medical treatment, and in addition to finding out that he is severely anemic, he had a CT scan done last Friday. The results showed inflammation of several sets of lymph nodes around his spine and central arteries as well as an inflamed spleen. His doctor diagnosed him with Lymphoma, which is a blood/lymph cancer which can also spread to the bones.  

 The oncologist he wanted to refer us to locally was on vacation and we had to wait until today to see him. After a thorough history and looking at the radiation results he confirmed that Chris does have lymphoma, but that is really only the first step in this process. There are 20 different kinds of lymphomas- Hodgkins is the most curable but also uncommon. Non Hodgkins Lymphomas (NHL) are the most common but not as curable.  

 We were given the choice to do all his testing on an outpatient or inpatient basis. We chose to have Chris admitted locally to the hospital to have a full body CT scan, a bone marrow biopsy, blood tests and a lymph node biopsy. Our prayer is that we will be finished with the testing by late Thursday and hear back from the pathologists by Friday or at the latest, early next week. As soon as we get the results, treatment can begin immediately. 99% of lymphomas can be treated on an outpatient basis, so he will be home for that.  We don't know if treatment will require only radiation or some chemotherapy as well.  They need to stage the cancer as far as progression, determine the risk level (low, high or very high) and pinpoint the exact type of cancer it is.

 God has graciously answered our first 2 prayers: that we would get in to see the oncologist today (we didn't have an appointment- the doctor fit us in)and that we would quickly move towards finishing all the tests.  The doctor forsees us starting treatment some time next week. We are praying that the pathologists would easily determine the type and that Chris would be able to finish all his testing quickly and be home by early Thursday. Obviously, we are hopeful that the cancer has not progressed far and that it is very curable.  We are being loved on well and are so thankful for our friends- we are blessed with amazing friends and an amazing church and an amazing God. The boys are fine and I am ok as long as I don't spend a lot of time thinking about the cancer's possible progression. 

Please pray with us for the following:

*That Chris would not give into his worrying about work, money, me, the boys or the future.

*That the boys and I would be a blessing and not a burden to him.

*That the cancer is a low risk, high cure type

*Peace for us and our family

*Energy and stamina for Chris as well as an increased appetite

*All testing and results by Friday so we can start treatment first thing next week