We all have our worries. And Joan and I know that so many of you reading this have said a prayer for Joan and you should know that we are returning the favor.
Since we last wrote to you all or updated the web site we have had another wonderful vacation (I
know I am going to hear it from my friends with kids now). First in April for Joan's Birthday we went to Discovery Cove and swam with the Dolphins. Then we went to Key West as we almost always do in July to hang out with our friends Bill and Amy Edwards whom we met down there a couple of years ago. We had a blast shopping and exploring the Pirate Museum and watching America’s most beautiful sun set all as a foursome.Joan and I also went on an eco tour of the barrier keys west even of Key West. They are uninhabited and a paradise for birds and fish. We paddled our kayak between the roots of the Mangroves and watched a mother Kingfisher teach a young male how to use a “bait leaf” to attract a fish and catch it. We watched as a six foot Blacknose shark swam under our shallow plastic boat. We later got into the water (much later I confess) and swam through the sponge gardens scaring the Lobster and watching the Cubans harvest them both. It was a great trip and I took about 100 picuters, mostly of Joan. We did have our guide snap one of us together.
No, that is not Vishnu paddling the boat, just a sign of a lousy photographer…
It was a great trip.
So anyway, when we last left Joan we were celebrating the “Worst Day Ever” anniversary by going to Las Vegas and thrilled that Joan’s Folicular Lymphoma growth had slowed to the degree that we were blessed with an extra month between scans and office visits! This must not sound like much of a victory to most, but an extra month without drinking a gallon of “Contrast Fluid” at five in the morning before driving to a hospital to drink even more of the stuff while wearing a paper dress… Well, you get the picture. Well this month’s visit was another good one.
A reminder that Joan has active Lymphoma in four parts of her body; she has cancer cells in her Mediasteinem (4), Hilum (2) and her Inguinal lymph nodes (5). Joan has had two lymph nodes removed from her neck (1) in the diagram. Both were found to be enlarged, but no cancer was present. She had two of her Auxiliary nodes removed (3) and that is where we knew she had her largest areas of cancer. The largest node was measured one and one half year ago as 1.8 x 1.4 cm. After 18 months and countless visits, CT Scans, PET Scans, and CAT Scans that largest node is not any larger and may be shrinking!
The doctors will not say that it is actually smaller even though the current measurements say that it is, we are just talking about something too small and too buried in muscle to be sure.But we do know that she is not getting worse and so once again, our Oncologist Dr. Capone has graciously allowed us to go even further into the future before our next visit and we have until January! Merry Christmas Indeed!
So no more updates this year. But do know that we draw great strength from all of your prayers and concerns. Like I said earlier, times are tough out there, but we find ourselves awed with the richness of so many loving relationships, a God who continues to bless us and a new Offensive Line for the Cleveland Browns!
Life is truly wonderful!
