Cancer Update

Nothing much new this week.

Had to schedule all pre-op testing, apply for medical leave at work, etc. Mostly administrative stuff.

Continue to be amazed at the out pouring of love, kind words, and hopeful comments from those around me. Please do not under estimate what a kind word of encouragement can mean to someone.

This is my new favorite song and will be the theme song for my upcoming difficult journey through cancer. This song confirms that things will be OK with me, regardless of the outcome.



Pray for my sister-in-law Pam Thomas who is having surgery this Tuesday on her thyroid, Dick Woodyard who is waiting for test results on possible cancer, and all of the others who are fighting the fight of cancer everyday. May God comfort and bless them on their journey.

Why me?

Last Tuesday, I was flying back from Chicago, when Angela called and said, "Doctor Kaufman wants you to call him right away." Since Doctor Kaufman is my urologist and I just had a biopsy on my prostate last Thursday, I was prepared for the worst.

I got it, I have prostate cancer.

Wow, just writing those words makes me feel a little different. It is not the most aggressive kind or the slowest growing, somewhere in the middle. He used the words "treatable and curable" which made me feel a little better, but I know the next few months will not be fun.

We meet with the Doctor on Monday to finalize a course of treatment, but I am leaning towards surgery. That is what the Doctor recommended, and he came highly recommended, and has the best "cure" rate of the other options.

Since, Tuesday, Angela and I have prayed a lot, shed a few tears, and have found out what kind of people we have around us. Many, many people have called, sent e-mails, or just stopped by my office at work to be an encouragement to me, and offer words of hope and encouragement. It makes me realize that I know many very good people and that my life has made a difference in people around me.

So why me? As Tyler told me, God picked me to go through this valley, because he knew I could handle it and that people will be watching me to see if my faith holds. Tyler also told me to get excited about what God is going to do, but that is going to take a little longer. My faith is strong, I know I will be fine.

The reasons why I am doing fine are; 1) is no symptoms and 2) I see God working to get me to this point. I often ask my class at church to look for how God is working around them, this is what I see:

• In January of 2009, Angela's insurance changed
• Our old family Doctor did not take the new insurance
• The new family Doctor insisted on a complete physical for all new patients.
• Completed first colonoscopy in my life, all clear
• All blood tests came back fine, except PSA which was a 10
• Went on antibiotics for 30 days and took another blood test
• PSA had already gone up to 12
• Biopsy results were supposed to take 7 to 10 days
• 3 working days later I got the call
• The night I got the call, when I got home from the airport, there was a 2 page article in the paper about treatment options for someone with prostate cancer.

What are the odds? 100% (With God, the odds of anything happening are always 100%).

Think about it this way, if all of the above had not happened, I would be sitting here with cancer and not even knowing it!

So I think i will use my blog to keep you updated and provide record of how God will get me through all of what waits for me. I hope it is an encouragement to you or someone you love.Keep

Angela, also in your prayers. This will be hard on her, but there is no one I would rather have by my side than her.

Pressing On!