Keep The Faith

Abide. That was our plan. Medical stuff was going to go on pause for the Christmas season and we would face the future in the new year. We would wait patiently for what would come. We would hold tight. We would abide. Health care professionals that we are blessed with, didn't wait. On Dec 21 oncologists that reviewed my file saw a concerning relapse-- more than 40 hot spots in my bone marrow.  Mysteriously, that level of activity had not been betrayed by the  protein markers in my blood. It was clear to them that a new treatment protocol would be needed as soon as possible but could not be found in a current clinical trial precisely because of the unusual nature of the relapse. With no viable trial on the horizon I was referred to the Tom Baker Cancer Centre in Calgary. A doctor there has compassionate access to an approved but unfunded newer drug known as a "bispecific." We will be doing a consult on January 8 and will make decisions after that. Now... again...we need to

We have been praying this week that God will "gentle" our hearts, and unclench our hands. Most of all we have prayed that God, in grace, will help us to trust.  Trust the love he has for us. A recent Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Scan was the subject of this week's doctor visit at the Central Alberta Cancer Centre. It revealed a number of high activity areas in my bone marrow that are likely due to active cancer cells. The scan also revealed that the cancer has done some damage to my left femur making for a higher risk of pathological fracture. It was an exam room, where there was a concerned doctor and a surprised patient. I had read the report, but the level of concern I saw in my doctor was something new. For now, we will continue my current treatment, but the doctor has sent my file to a group of experts at the Cross Cancer Institute in Edmonton for review. He believes that a change in treatment protocol is likely warranted and hopes for a viable clinical trial.