This past week I hit a chemo milestone of sorts … the chemo treatment last week marked my twentieth bi-weekly treatment (with a week off here and there for vacation, recovery and good behavior … OK, maybe we better stick to just the first two) since I was diagnosed with Stage IV Metastatic Colon Cancer in August 2011.
That has included 10 intense chemo treatments and now 10 maintenance treatments. The difference between intense and maintenance treatments is the exclusion of the oxaliplatin … believe me when I say I have not missed that drug or its nasty side effects.
Per my oncologist, since I am Stage IV (basically meaning the cancer has spread from the organ of origin to another organ … in my case from the colon to the right lung), short of one of God’s miracles (ALWAYS a possibility) biweekly chemo treatments are a part of my future til death do us part … and my hope is that is some far off point in the future.
August 11 will mark the one year anniversary of the discovery of the cancer in the midst of a sigmoid colectomy procedure/surgery (that due to the cancer mass resulted in a colostomy instead of reconnection). In that time frame, we have have CT scans after every four treatments (next scan is August 13) and every time they have revealed the cancer is stable … it’s not shrinking … but praise the Lord … it’s not growing either!
The first year of this battle has been an incredible journey of faith … which I have shared much of on the blog. God has been ever faithful … He has healed me when I needed healing … He has comforted me when I needed comforting … He has carried me in my weakness … He has strengthened me when I seemingly had no strength to go on … He has filled me with huge doses of hope in what many see as a hopeless situation. Basically He has loved me throughout … and for that I am eternally thankful and ever hopeful.
He has made me more than a cancer survivor … He has made me a cancer warrior!
While I am coming up on the one year anniversary of this particular battle, it will also be five years since they removed a a section of my colon with a cancerous polyp (no subsequent chemo required) … so this really marks five years of victory IN Christ in the cancer wars …
Thank you Lord … may there be many more years in the battle!
Bernie
Bernie,
Be STRONG and POWERFUL in the Lord, Cancer Warrior!! … for “He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. ” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Jim D.
IN Christ Jesus indeed Jim, IN Christ Jesus! At times it seems like His power is amplified by my cancer … it has been an amazing journey over the past year. Lord willing, there are many more to come. Thanks for the encouraging comment Jim!
Be blessed IN and BY Christ Jesus as Lord!
Bernie