The End is Near...Or Is It The Beginning?

So, it's been a while since I've posted to the blog. I'm not sure why. I think maybe I just got tired of everything. I got tired of talking about it. I got tired of writing about it. But I realized that talking and writing about my circumstance really was apart of my healing.

Sometimes we find ourselves in situations in which the last thing we want to do is talk about them. Yet that is exactly what we must do. It's what the disciple whom Jesus loved calls "living in the light" (open your Bible to 1 John and read a little bit to find the reference). I don't think he was just talking about sin there. I think that being transparent is just something that's plain healthy. It gets the negative mojo out, so-to-speak. Unresolved negative emotions are like poison and let me tell ya, I don't need any more or other types of poison right now because the chemo is more than enough.

Anyways, all that to say this: I'm back to the blog to keep everyone updated.

We got some really great news even before the third cycle began. On the very first treatment day of cycle three my blood was drawn to run the usual tests. All my counts were good. Perhaps the best count was actually a count that has been going down: my tumor markers.

There are two tumor markers. One is called the beta hCG. This, interestingly enough is also the same hormone produced in pregnancy. Your everyday pregnancy test actually tests for an elevated beta hCG level. So, if I would have taken a pregnancy test, it would have been positive! The other tumor marker is called Alpha-fetoprotein. I don't really have an interesting story for that one. All I really know is that if it is elevated in men, it's most likely a sign of cancer. Thus the reason it's called a 'tumor marker'.

Both of these markers were back down to almost normal levels when they did my blood work before starting the first treatment on day one of the third cycle. The next week, the beta hCG was completely normal and the the other had been reduced by over half but was still slightly elevated.

I go on Tuesday for the last treatment of the third cycle. My oncologist told me last week that he expects both of the levels tumor markers to be back to normal levels by that time, according to the way they have been dropping.

This brings me to a prayer of agreement that I need from you, the people reading this.

It's great that the numbers that need to stay up are, and those needing to go down have been. It's great that my blood is showing normal levels. However, this isn't everything. On Friday morning I go into to get new CT scans. This will be a more telling test of the progress of my healing.

Catherine and I are excited about it. We believe that they will find nothing. Agree with us that this will be further evidence to support the truth we already know in our hearts. I AM HEALED.

Even though my blood work is good and the test WILL be good, the fourth cycle will still take place. To be honest, it kind of stinks, but I understand why. Even though everything may appear normal, there is still the possibility that cancer cells could be present but not really that detectable. So, we must proceed with the treatments and finish all four cycles.

I'm not worried, and neither is anyone who has seen me run. I always finish strong.

So, the end is near. Catherine and I can finally begin to see the light at the the end of a very long, dark tunnel. In about a month we get to finish this race against cancer and begin whatever race God has next. That excited me. I don't know what all will come from this journey. All I know is that Romans 8:28 says that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. While I'm not a scholar, I'm pretty sure that 'everything' in the Greek means everything, cancer included.