Consultation at the Block Center

On Tuesday, we drove to the Block Center in Skokie Illinois. The last time Cathy visited was on December 18th. We met with Dr Keith Block. After talking with Cathy and reviewing her case he did not have any new treatments, medical trials or natural solutions that might be "outside the box."

If Cathy wants to "pull out all the stops," he recommended a combination of Carboplatin - Taxol - Herceptin followed by a Neulasta shot. Given Cathy's current condition he would administer this treatment plan over a three day period. The first day would be I.V. nutrients to bolster her system. The following morning he would employ chronotherapy of the Taxol (the time of day when the drug is the most effective fighting cancer cells and the least toxic to healthy cells) . Later in the afternoon she would receive the Carboplatin and Herceptin treatments. The final day would be the Neulasta shot and toxin reducing therapies.

He also talked about lesser forms of treatments to choose from; Faslodex, Halaven and Navelbine.

In order to put this decision into perspective, after Cathy's last chemo treatment on November 20th she experienced swelling in the abdomen and legs, mouth and throat sores, nose bleeds, fatigue, rapid heart beat, blood in stool and anemia. Her hemoglobin dropped dangerously low to 5.3 and she received 4 units of blood over a six day period.

Cathy's vital signs on Tuesday were; blood pressure 89/49, pulse 54, temperature 96.2, oxygen 98 and weight 108 lbs.

Both Cathy and Mike ask for your ongoing intercession of prayer for wisdom and discernment as they choose a treatment plan from the Block Center, local oncologist or naturopathic medicine.

Since Cathy's ascites (abdominal fluid retention) impairs her ability to digest food, please pray that the meal replacement shakes and supplements would sustain her body.

The April weather provided an interesting mix of dense fog, sprinkles, sunshine, hail and high winds. We are very grateful for safe travel.

If you have questions please call me.

Sincerely,
Lori
260-459-0254
  

"Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!"  
Because He lives by Bill Gaither

Easter has come and gone, but the verses above give hope throughout the year: HE LIVES! and that is all that matters!!

Cathy had her 5th herceptin treatment yesterday (Tue) at Parkview Hospital. The blood work indicated 1 positive: the bilirubin dropped from 2.45 to 1.72. However, the liver enzymes both went up as well as the tumor markers.

                          Last          This
Bilirubin               2.45          1.72
AST                    178            195
ALT                     139            163
Alk Phosphates    601            787
Tumor markers     940           1347

We will be making a trip to the Block Center in Chicago on Tue (29th) to discuss possible strategies with Dr. Block. We really do not want to do any more Chemo, but have not ruled out other options. Would appreciate prayer that Dr. Block would have Godly wisdom to 'steer us' in the right direction (as well as for safe travel--this will be a LONG trip and day for Cathy). Thanks for standing with us!

Mike

As we approach this Easter season, we are reminded of God's renewing goodness. He makes all things new: flowers springing up, trees budding, grass greening AND SNOW MELTING!! We are especially thankful for the renewing of our hearts and the rebirth we have through our Savior, Jesus Christ. That Christ suffered and died for our sins is not out of the ordinary because we, as humans, all suffer and at some point are appointed to die. HOWEVER, what we truly celebrate is His resurrection through which we ALL have access to an eternal, living Savior. The empty tomb trumps our empty way of life and gives us purpose and hope. It is this season of hope that we look to our LORD for a renewing of Cathy's liver and an end to this cancer. We KNOW that He is  able to "do more than we can hope or imagine" and we pray that He is WILLING to put an end to this disease that we have been battling for over three years. We do not know His sovereign plan, but submit to His perfect will. "Lord, grant that we might love you always and then do with us as you would will it"

Cathy's Herceptin treatment will be Tuesday (April 22nd) at Parkview Hospital. We will get new blood work and share the results on the blog. We then have an appointment with Dr. Block up in Chicago the following Tuesday (29th) to discuss possible strategies. We have been able to stay local through the LONG winter months for Cathy's treatment, but now that the weather is more cooperative we want to travel back to the Block Center and re-engage them in the fight. As always, your prayers are greatly appreciated. We know that ultimately it will be through your faithfulness and God's mercy and power that we will be victorious in this fight.

Mike

A Time To Ponder

During this week I thought I would share these thoughts  (Lori)

Title: We Do Not Belong to Darkness

Author: Elisabeth Elliot

There are times when we cannot see our way, and it seems that darkness is about to overcome and hold us. It must have seemed so to the Christians in Thessalonica. Paul spoke of their grave suffering because of having welcomed his message. Must the coming of the light of God's truth bring suffering? Yes, often it does, and the one who has received it with joy is plunged into darkness. But darkness is not his master! He does not "belong" to it (1 Thes 5:6 NEB) but is in fact a "child of light," having been given word of things to come--resurrection, the sound of an archangel's voice, God's trumpet-call, the descent of the Lord Himself. "God has not destined us to the terrors of judgment.... He died for us so that we, awake or asleep, might live in company with Him" (5:9, 10). 

A small child is at peace even in the dark if his father or mother is with him. He has company. How different the darkness feels then.

Take the word of the Lord in your darkness. If He died to let us live in his company, is He likely to abandon us just because things look dark?

For some reason, I had in my mind that Cathy's herceptin treatment was every 4 weeks, so we showed up on the 27th only to find out that: 1) appointments are NOT automatic--like at the Block Center, and 2) We did NOT have an appointment scheduled for that day and couldn't get in until TODAY (April 1st). The herceptin is actually every 3 weeks IF an appointment is made at the previous visit.

Today's visit was not as I had hoped. The blood results showed that the high dose vitamin c is having NO effect on the cancer and Cathy's bilirubin has crossed the 2.0 barrier which means that we wouldn't be able to do chemo even if we wanted to (which we don't). However, it also means that her liver is failing and increasingly unable to do its job. We won't know the tumor markers until Wed or Thurs, but I can't imagine they have improved when all else has not. We are now at another crossroad as to where to go from here. We are stopping the vitamin c (effective immediately) and will begin to search out other alternative treatments. I have a couple of leads to pursue. Cathy did get a herceptin treatment today, but if her blood work does not show improvement or at least stabilization at her next appointment on the 22nd of April, we will also discontinue that, as well. The only thing I know for sure is that we need your continued prayers for guidance and healing. I have not chosen a correct path for Cathy, yet and we cannot afford another dead-end path.The battle is not going well, but the war is NOT over!!

For those who would like the blood work results, here they are:

                              2/27/14          4/1/14
Albumin                 2.1 low          same
Alk Phosphates      473 high        601 high
ALT                       126 high        139 high
AST                       122 high        178 high
Direct bili              .76 high          1.61 high
Total bili                1.39 high       2.45 very high
Total protein           6.2 low          6.4 bottom of okay