Growing in Grace

March 31, 2011 Dennis finished chemotherapy on March 4. After about a week of recovery, he has been feeling pretty good overall. His hair is a bit thinner, but he doesn’t look like he’s had 12 weeks of chemotherapy as you might expect. He has met with both the oncologist and the surgeon and his surgery is scheduled for one week from today - April 7. The surgeon feels everything looks good and surgery should be routine. Dennis will be getting two surgeons for the price of one as he is a good candidate for robotic surgery. A top robotic surgeon will be joining the UCI staff tomorrow - April 1. Robotic surgery allows for more precise cutting, which is a rather important part of surgery I suppose! The surgery will last about 3-4 hours and Dennis will need to be in the hospital for 5 days. One main concern for surgery is the possibility of a temporary ostomy bag. This would only need to be done if the surgeon felt he could not reattach the colon without the risk of leakage. The bag wo

Acceptance of your circumstances is an important thing to wrap your mind and heart around. Believing that God has a purpose for all things has really helped us get through this time. It's not fun or easy, but we put one foot in front of the other trusting that God has our best interests in mind. It was so great to finish this leg of our journey. . . March 1, 2011 Here we are again at the final week of a treatment cycle. Hallelujah! With the last round of chemo, Dennis woke up Thursday morning feeling good. This continued into Friday morning. But by Friday evening he was feeling bad; worse than he had felt yet. It stayed with him well into Sunday and even Monday. We are praying that he will not have a worse time this round. Although we are not looking forward to tomorrow and the rest of this week, we can’t help but be relieved knowing it’s the last one for now. February 18th marked six months since we found out Dennis had cancer. I spent some time reflecting on all we’

This was an "antsy" time. . . nearing the end, but anxious to be done. It's kind of like sitting in traffic when you really want to get to where you're going, but can't do anything to move forward. I guess this is what we call patience. We've been learning this lesson. I find more often now that I can relax and let things go by without getting worked up and anxious that I can't be a part of it or that I can't change it. Not always, just more often than before! I'm still growing after all! . . . February 15, 2011 Tonight we’re gearing up for round three of chemo treatment. I was thinking earlier today that it must be hard for Dennis to go tomorrow knowing that he is going to feel lousy for the next 3-4 days. At dinner he shared that he wasn’t looking forward to going tomorrow for that very reason. This is the “hump” week - we’re halfway done, but still have two more to go. Although this has been much easier on Dennis than the six weeks of

1 Peter 1:6-7 says, "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - my be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed." This trial is not what I would have asked for specifically. But I have prayed for a deeper relationship with the Lord and to live a life that glorifies Him. As we have walked this cancer journey, we have certainly been growing in the "grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior" and have been learning valuable lessons in trusting the Lord. I continue to pray for a genuine, enduring faith, and that the Lord is pleased with our response. . . February 8, 2011 Again this week, we have been reminded that God has Dennis in His hands. He is doing better than expected with his 2nd cycle of chemo. The first three days he was very ti

We were so elated to hear the news that the tumor was gone! We saw this as continued confirmation that we had made the right choice and that God was at work. But like the Israelites, we sometimes forget where our provision comes from and we allow the enemy to feed us anxious thoughts. As Dennis' chemotherapy began we had concerns about the side effects. It was like waiting for an egg to hatch or something along those lines - when would it all begin? Well, it never did. Except for food tasting funny and tingling in his toes and fingers, Dennis never really had any serious side effects. Again, why should we have worried? God was answering the prayers going up on Dennis' behalf. Just another reminder of the truth of Philippians 4:6 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." . . . January 14, 2011 Dennis had his ultrasound this morning. The procedure went well and we found out some GR

We began the New Year feeling good. We believe it is because we continue to rely on Him for all our needs that we have experienced such hope, peace and joy. Anything we do on our own is in vain. For us there is no other way to live than to recognize Jesus in the midst of all areas of our lives. . . January 13, 2011 With the New Year comes the next phase of Dennis’ treatment. This is to let you know where we are at this time and what’s ahead. Dennis finished his radiation/chemotherapy on December 17th. The last week was pretty rough on him. By Christmas Day, however, he was beginning to feel better. We enjoyed an incredible Christmas Day together at home as a family with our parents and my grandma. The week after Christmas, Dennis continued to feel better. By New Year’s Eve he felt great and we were able to go to Knott’s Berry Farm for the day and to celebrate the New Year with my parents and brother’s family that evening. Dennis has continued to feel well enough to mow the lawn,

What a relief to be finished with the first part of treatment. A huge weight was lifted each day that Dennis was feeling better; and we had the best Christmas ever. As I look over this, I am reminded that the chemotherapy treatment didn't go as we expected. On the negative side, the day Dennis went in for infusion took much longer than we had first been told. But on the positive side Dennis didn't have the extreme side effects we were told to expect. Another reminder that God is ever present with us, working in our lives for our good and His glory. . . December 26, 2010 Just a little update to let you know how things are going and what’s next. Dennis completed the first part of his treatment on Friday, December 17. The last week was pretty rough for him. He was very fatigued and began to suffer from skin irritation from the radiation, which was very painful. It was such a relief to know that we had made it through the first part. Last Tuesday we met with the chemo

Hope is a precious thing. If it wasn't for the promise of better things to come, life would easily become unbearable. God's word has been a valuable source of hope to us during this season. While this time was particularly difficult, we were resting in the hope that our troubles would soon be over, and that joy was to come. . . December 11, 2010 Week 5 has come to an end. It was pretty rough for Dennis. Last weekend his cold began to overwhelm him; he developed a really bad sore throat along with the discomfort of his mouth sores and congestion. We got him in to see our family doctor on Tuesday. The doctor said he had developed a fungus in his mouth. He gave Dennis an antibiotic shot and two prescriptions for mouth rinses: one for the fungus and the other a pain reliever. He spent the rest of the week eating soft foods trying to find something that wasn’t too painful to swallow. He was also a lot more fatigued. His chemo nurse told him on Friday that this last w

This by far was the toughest time of our cancer journey for me. Dennis was feeling really bad from the side effects of treatment and his cold. I was so weary and feeling guilty for feeling weary because I wasn't the one who was sick. Thankfully, I was reminded that the Lord is my strength. As we have continued to rely on Him, we find that our fear, anxiety, discouragement and sorrow has turned to courage, peace, confidence and joy. God's reversals are amazing. . . December 3, 2010 As I read through my last update on Wednesday, I felt like it was a bit forced. By mid week I was feeling very weary. The encouragement I had felt on Friday when working on my study and the enthusiasm for being half way through treatment began to wane. I was tired and overwhelmed. There never seems to be enough hours in the day to accomplish all that needs to be done. I was feeling like I was unable to give my best to anyone or anything. My house is not very clean. There was three weeks of

We were glad to be halfway finished with treatment, especially because Dennis was beginning to have some very uncomfortable side effects. We continued to focus on our eternal hope and glory to get us through. . . November 30, 2010 We have reached the halfway mark. Monday was treatment 14 out of 28; three weeks down and three more to go. For the first time in those three weeks, Dennis’ Monday schedule went smoothly and he was even done early. We pray this will continue to be the case for the remaining Monday and Fridays. Dennis still has his cough and congestion, which the radiology doctor was concerned about. However, when she looked at his blood work, it did not show that he had any infection and, in fact, showed his counts were up from the previous week. They are still low, but in the normal range. On the down side, Dennis has begun to experience side effects from the chemo. He has broken out in canker sores along his lower lip and he is very fatigued. The nurse told hi

We were doing the thing that was before us each day. Leaning on the Lord for strength. Remaining open to what He had for us to learn. The next couple weeks were about to get difficult, but we trusted God to supply our every need. And He was faithful to do so at every turn. . . November 23, 2010 Well, the 2nd week of treatment has concluded. Based on the number of treatments needed, Dennis has completed a little over a 1/3 of them. He will be done with this first part of treatment on December 17. Dennis continues to do well. He is still up exercising most mornings. He is tired a bit more and gets worn out a bit more easily, but being home allows him to rest. We’ve gotten the schedule down, but the infusion lab can’t seem to get theirs in order! Every Monday and Friday, Dennis has to wait because they don’t have his pump ready. Yesterday the nurse gave Dennis her card and told him to call when we’re on our way so she can get his chart to the pharmacy. Hopefully this will help the pr

We made it through the first week of radiation/chemotherapy fairly well. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I think we had been anticipating; which came to be true of most everything in the months to follow. We began counting down the weeks - this helped us feel like we'd accomplished something as well as helped us see the end wasn't too far off. . . November 15, 2010 The first week of treatment has ended. I feel like we have accomplished a great deal. Dennis has done very well this week. He is much more tired than before, but in spite of the fatigue, he was able to get up and exercise a few days this week. He had a couple moments of nausea that led him to take his medication, but after a short time, it passed. He has been eating well and has even gained a couple pounds. Being hooked up to the chemo pump is a bit annoying for him, but it is not uncomfortable. We are happy to have one week behind us. We have been so grateful for the dinners this week. Not having to think abo

Once we had decided which treatment plan to follow there was a lot of waiting. The surgeon said it was urgent we begin treatment, but we had to wait for insurance authorizations before we could begin. Dennis used the phrase "hurry up and wait". It was hard to wait, but it was also an incredible time of experiencing God's provision in our lives. I was bubbling over with joy at how the Lord was working things out for our good and His glory. There was a bit of uncertainty as we did not know what to fully expect in the coming weeks, but we continued to cling to the Lord for hope. . . November 7, 2010 Finally, after a couple weeks of waiting, more appointments, a procedure, another scan, and a couple of date and time changes, Dennis is scheduled to begin his radiation/ chemotherapy treatment tomorrow, November 8. We were given a time late morning that will allow us to miss traffic and still be home in time to pick up Ellie from school. Although we are both glad that h

So today I turned 41 - I'm an official "40-something". I had the opportunity to spend some time alone today while driving to meet my grandma and mom for lunch. I was thinking about this past year and all the things that have had an impact on me. I've read some really great books: "Jesus Freaks" by Voice of the Martyrs and dc Talk "The Beauty of Christ Through Brokenness" by KP Yohannan "Educating the Wholehearted Child" by Sally Clarkson "A Family Budgeting Guide Family Financial Workbook" by Larry Burkett "Love & Respect" by Emerson Eggerichs "The Pilgrim's Progress A Modern Abridgment" by John Bunyan "Bringing Up Boys" by James Dobson "Unshaken" by Dan Woolley "The Mystery of God's Will" by Charles Swindoll Last spring I was finishing up a Bible study on the life of Paul. Over the summer I studied a Woman of Faith study titled "A Life of Worship".