Thanks anyway

We just got home from MDA. This is the earliest we've ever gotten home, so an 8:30 Dr. appt is worth it!

Yesterday I asked for prayers, 3 specific prayers in the order of how I wanted them.
1. No cancer
2. Shrinkage
3. No progression

God said no, not yet, wait. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit. I threw a small fit.

God spoke to me through Lynn Anderson:
"I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden. Along with the sunshine, there's gotta be a little rain sometime."

As far as bad news goes, it's not horrible. There has been some progression in a lymph node and a lung nodule. Every 3 months the progression has been insignificant, but comparing last November to now, it is enough to warrant changing course. Still the progression is small, 1 cm in a year, and slow. And there is no new cancer.

The cancer responded well to the current treatment for about 3 years, so that is good. But cancer doesn't quit, and eventually finds a way around the treatment. David is the only MDA patient still receiving the vaccine from the original trial he was in. Today was his last one.  It is 4 years this month that they found the tumor. He has already beat the odds.

So soon David will begin a new immunotherapy treatment. He will take a daily oral medication along with an infusion every two weeks. One good thing about the infusion is that he can have that done locally so we don't have to travel to Houston every other week. This is a new trial and part of the protocol is that they only admit 3 people at a time. So we are on this list to be admitted. It will be the end of December or the beginning of January. In the meantime he will stay on the regimen he has been on. The hope is because he did so well on the first immunotherapy trial, that he will respond positively to the new one also. Apparently this treatment is very well tolerated so maybe it will actually be better for him. He's not excited that there are needle biopsies involved.

So here is where God spoke to me through the Rolling Stones:
"You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need."

If you prefer, Philippians 4:19. All our needs are already met. Come Lord Jesus.

Finally, this happened on the way home:

That's a chip in the windshield. It's about the size of a quarter. It sounded like a gunshot when it hit. I am thankful it wasn't. I am thankful it hasn't spread and can be repaired. But still. Ugh.

Final song, courtesy of John Denver:
"Some days are diamond, some days are stone."

Today was a stone kind of day. But we press on.

Please continue to pray. Lots could happen before he starts the new treatment. Like the lesions could shrink or disappear. All Glory be to God.

Please also pray for my friend Holli and the community of Sutherland Springs.

Thank you for loving us.

Flooding in Houston

I just really didn't have a catchy title. And there was some flooding in Houston. But it doesn't have anything to do with this.

Oh my goodness, there are too many people with cancer. Please make it stop.  It never ceases to amaze me when we walk into a waiting room. You really have to see it to believe it.  I hope you never see it.

So yada yada yada, we waited a long time for everything as usual.

David's scan showed another slight increase in that dumb lymph node. So after much discussion the Dr. decided to up his dosage again in hopes of finding the sweet spot of enough medicine without too many side effects. The problem is he has been having a lot, a lot, of stomach/intestinal issues. So the meds are increasing. And so are the prescriptions for his other issues. Hopefully this works. Dr. still thinks this drug is very good for David because it has worked for so long. He wants to give it one more try. If there is progression in 3 months they will find another treatment. The one discussed today involves a trip to MDA every 2 weeks for an immunotherapy infusion. Every 2 weeks for as long as it works. Every 2 weeks. Of course we will do what we have to but. Every 2 weeks. Ugh.

Please pray for no progression, more shrinking is what we want! And limited side effects that he can cope with.

If you are so inclined to pray big, pray for NO cancer and NO side effects.

Thank you for praying.

Thank you for loving us.

But what did the scans show!?

I think I have mentioned before how when we finally get in to see the Dr. they want to ask questions and exchange pleasantries much longer than we want to. Because what we really want to know is WHAT DID THE SCANS SHOW!? Then we can talk.
So, I'll get that out of the way first and you can stop reading if you want then because there is other info I want to record.

So.......the disease is stable again! Yay!

And the rest is this.
Because David has had a bummer of a time the last 3 months with stomach/intestinal issues, and has lost 20 pounds! (anyone besides me find those extra pounds?), they gave him the choice of taking weekends off the meds again or dropping down the dosage and staying on 7 days a week. He and the Dr. agreed that consistency might be the best so David will reduce the dosage but stay on the meds all week. They are pretty sure this will help resolve his issues. He can let them know if it doesn't help. They are all about finding a balance between treating the cancer and being able to function as normally as possible. He also gets to take a week off to recover. So yay!

Also at some point he developed a blockage/aneurism in an artery that goes to his spleen. There is some damage to a small part of his spleen. They reminded him to continue is aspirin regimen,  which he had forgotten to take for about 3 weeks! Oops! I don't think he'll forget that again!

Finally, David had the option of remaining in the clinical trial. The company conducting the trial has not seen the results they had hoped from this treatment. Of about 400 participants originally in the study, about half have actually died. This is sobering to say the least! However, they do think that maybe for a certain specific population, the treatment has been beneficial. So the FDA agreed to let them continue the study in hopes of narrowing down the characteristics of people who have had success with this treatment. The FDA basically said it wasn't hurting anything so go ahead. Anyway, David decided to stay in because something is working right now.

And now a little about the actual trip. Monday evening the scans took forever, they were horribly (lol they said 30 minutes-NOT) behind.
But Tuesday morning his appointment was at 10am. Guess what time we were sitting in the Drs office? 10 AM! What!?! We were on the road home by noon. That is a true Christmas miracle!

Thank you for all your prayers, especially Monday night. They were definitely felt! Please continue to pray for no new lesions and no new growth. Also pray for David to feel better and no further damage to his spleen.

And if you don't have cancer or are not close to someone who does, I think you are in a small minority. MDA is crowded with patients from all over the world. It is a premier facility in the fight against cancer. Unfortunately they are not going out of business anytime soon. Never take your health for granted!

Thank you for loving us!

Two posts in one

As I sit down to write this update, I realize I didn't update after our previous trip to MDA in November. So lucky you, 2 posts in one!

The November appointment is just a distant memory at this point. The news was no change, disease stable. Good news! Merry Christmas.

The news this week, Tuesday, was ok.

No progression in any of the lung nodules, but one enlarged lymph node near the area of the removed kidney. Dr. T still feels like the drug David is taking is working and wants him to stay on it until out next appt in 3 months.  About a year and a half ago they lowered David's dosage by giving him the weekend off of the meds. He now will add the weekends back in. We are hoping that this will make that little lymph bean happy and reduce the size again.

So it's not terrible, just not what we had become accustomed to. But hey, it's stupid cancer. It has no rules.

Because they didn't technically raise his dosage, he stays in the study and will continue to take the vaccine.

Dr. T says not to worry and he still feels good about this treatment. Easy for him to say, right? David asked if he was being totally straight with us...he said he was.
If the extra doses doesn't work, then it will be on to the next plan. Which they already have in mind. But idk what it is. A new trial.

We were happy to leave and be on our way home by 1 because we had San Antonio Rodeo tickets for that evening. We zoomed home, picked up the beautiful girls and had a fun evening together.

Please pray that the increased dosing works and the intestinal issues don't get bad again. Also pray for David's blood pressure to stay under control so they don't have to add another pill to his routine.

Thank you for loving us!

Oh the irony! Traffic jam in Martindale!

Rodeo fun!

The Beautiful Girls!