This day will always be special to me. It was Friday 13th of December, 2019 when the doctor confirmed that I had cancer. And that it was treatable and beatable.
Then on Friday the 13th of March, 2020 I had a PET scan that found my body cancer-free. I greet this day with joy and celebration.
Yesterday I went back to Florida Cancer Treatment Center for a blood test. The routine is to get a blood test every 6 months after the last chemotherapy for three years. Dr. Esper said “perfect”. All the markers are good and I remain cured.
2020 was the best year of my life… Because it was not my last.
Exactly one year ago the first dose of chemotherapy was coursing through my veins. My hair was predictably falling out and there were five more doses to go. Although it was debilitating, it worked. The lump in my neck and all the other cancerous lymph nodes vanished. Within four months the threat was gone. I survived.
Now the “ifs”. If I did not discover this lump until later, if the medicine did not work, if it was stage four inoperative, I could have died. But thanks to God’s grace, the love of my wife, family, friends, excellent care by all people on the medical team, the cancer is behind me and health is here and ahead.
We never ran out of faith, friends, funds or toilet paper.
“So I gave you a land on which you did not toil and cities you did not build; and you live in them and eat from vineyards and olive groves that you did not plant.
Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped… But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Joshua 24:13
Praise the Lord.
How good it is to sing praises to our God,
how pleasant and fitting to praise him!
The Lord builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the exiles of Israel.
He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds.
He determines the number of the stars
and calls them each by name.
Great is our Lord and mighty in power;
his understanding has no limit.
The Lord sustains the humble
but casts the wicked to the ground.
Sing to the Lord with grateful praise;
make music to our God on the harp.
He covers the sky with clouds;
he supplies the earth with rain
and makes grass grow on the hills.
He provides food for the cattle
and for the young ravens when they call.
His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his delight in the legs of the warrior;
the Lord delights in those who fear him,
who put their hope in his unfailing love…
Psalm 147
2020-2021 can be like this amaryllis bulb. It is dirty, scarred and it smells bad. But it is packed with potential. But bury it, nurture it and it will give you something beautiful, wonderful.
Friday, June 10, 2020. I have been declared cancer-free, still.
Back in March they did a PET scan, confirming the absence of cancer cells. Then we did two more doses of chemotherapy. Two weeks ago they did one last PET scan. Today’s meeting with Doctor Esper concluded that I am cured and no more treatment or scans will be needed, ever!
Thank you Florida Cancer Specialist for doing everything in your power to rid me of a life-threatening disease. Thank you God for hearing our prayers and healing me. Thank you Lord for giving us all comfort in difficult times and carrying us through. Let Your will be done.
Yesterday I received my last dose of chemotherapy. At our first meeting the doctor proposed four doses, then the PET scan, and he assured me it would be clear. He was right. But they scheduled six doses to assure all the cancerous cells would be gone. One of the nurses told me of one patient who stopped at four and came back a couple years later after her cancer had returned and the chemotherapy was stronger and longer. No thanks. Hit me now, not harder later.
This dose feels about like the rest. I think they remove my blood and replace it with sand.
The side effects of Prednisone are energy, but not ability. Last night I went to bed at 10 and was wide awake at 12:30, time for breakfast. I see a project I want to tackle but I get dizzy just bending over and standing up. Dragging the trash can to the curb is exhausting. I feel like I have a fever but my temperature is 96.3. All along I have looked forward to April, but May should be the time when I recover.
During the first week after chemo my immune system is gone. Especially tomorrow. This weird box attached to my arm will make beeping noises at 7:00 pm and pump more meds into me that will boost the white blood cells. It’s designed to be administered at home to reduce the risk of infection, assuming no one at home is sick.
So, this Stay at Home order is just fine with me. For the next five days I’ll hunker down and if I need to venture out I have a mask and gloves and sanitizer.
The results are in. The PET scan came back clear. I am cancer free.
Thank you Florida Cancer Research Center and praise God. Eternal thanks to all of you who sent kind words, encouraging thoughts, and effective prayers.
Now more chemotherapy. As a precaution, in case there are free floating cancer cells, I’ll get a dose today and again in three weeks.
Lumpy Bob 