Well, apparently our ducks weren't in a row! Chris's surgery date has been re-scheduled to Friday September 6th. We will know the time on the 5th, so check back. Instead of an operation, we will enjoy a relaxing Labor Day weekend and the close of summer! Hope you all will too.
Love and Blessings, Teresa xo
Friday, August 23, 2013
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Surgery Scheduled
Hello Everyone!
I didn't want to post information until we had all of our ducks in a row. When working with the medical profession, things can change so quickly, I didn't want to give out dates that could change! With that said, Christopher is scheduled for surgery Friday August 30th to remove his very pesky lymph node!!!
Many of you are probably thinking, "but I thought they said this was inoperable?" We thought that, too. However, our wonderful oncologist never said it was inoperable. A surgeon at the very beginning of this (not a thoracic surgeon, a urology surgeon) said it was inoperable. Please let this be a lesson...don't settle for an answer from just one doctor! Seek other opinions. Pray and look for the answer you're willing to accept. My beautiful husband is living proof that God answers prayers. And I will always be so very grateful to our Lord and Savior for this beautiful blessing.
But I digress, the Chief Surgeon of Thoracic Robotics will perform the sugery. Yes, you read that right, robotics! Chris will have a robotic surgery to remove the lymph node. He will be in the hospital overnight, if everything goes according to plan. He will be home the next day!
The really cool part about all of this...I asked our oncologist if there was a way to hold on to this tumor. I've read about research being done to create cancer vaccines and other treatments from the original tumors that people had in their bodies. Our doctor explained that they need to have a living part of the tumor in case they are able to develop any of these modern treatment conceptions. So, our onocologist will take part of Chris's tumor and place it in a mouse in his research lab! Isn't that amazing?! Unfortunately, they need a lot more money to develop these new treatments. Kidney cancer isn't a cancer you hear about all the time. Hopefully through this blog, I'm helping bring awareness to this horrible disease that deserves just as much acknowledgement as other more common discussed cancers.
Please pray that everything goes well and that the surgeon is able to get all of the lymph node, tumor, and any surrounding lymph nodes. Please thank the Lord for the healing that He has already granted Chris and that He will continue to heal him.
We won't know what time surgery is until the 29th. Please check back next Thursday. I will post the time, so we can have as many people praying as possible during surgery. I'm determined to have God make sure the surgeon is able to get all of it out safely!
Love and Blessings, Teresa xo
I didn't want to post information until we had all of our ducks in a row. When working with the medical profession, things can change so quickly, I didn't want to give out dates that could change! With that said, Christopher is scheduled for surgery Friday August 30th to remove his very pesky lymph node!!!
Many of you are probably thinking, "but I thought they said this was inoperable?" We thought that, too. However, our wonderful oncologist never said it was inoperable. A surgeon at the very beginning of this (not a thoracic surgeon, a urology surgeon) said it was inoperable. Please let this be a lesson...don't settle for an answer from just one doctor! Seek other opinions. Pray and look for the answer you're willing to accept. My beautiful husband is living proof that God answers prayers. And I will always be so very grateful to our Lord and Savior for this beautiful blessing.
But I digress, the Chief Surgeon of Thoracic Robotics will perform the sugery. Yes, you read that right, robotics! Chris will have a robotic surgery to remove the lymph node. He will be in the hospital overnight, if everything goes according to plan. He will be home the next day!
The really cool part about all of this...I asked our oncologist if there was a way to hold on to this tumor. I've read about research being done to create cancer vaccines and other treatments from the original tumors that people had in their bodies. Our doctor explained that they need to have a living part of the tumor in case they are able to develop any of these modern treatment conceptions. So, our onocologist will take part of Chris's tumor and place it in a mouse in his research lab! Isn't that amazing?! Unfortunately, they need a lot more money to develop these new treatments. Kidney cancer isn't a cancer you hear about all the time. Hopefully through this blog, I'm helping bring awareness to this horrible disease that deserves just as much acknowledgement as other more common discussed cancers.
Please pray that everything goes well and that the surgeon is able to get all of the lymph node, tumor, and any surrounding lymph nodes. Please thank the Lord for the healing that He has already granted Chris and that He will continue to heal him.
We won't know what time surgery is until the 29th. Please check back next Thursday. I will post the time, so we can have as many people praying as possible during surgery. I'm determined to have God make sure the surgeon is able to get all of it out safely!
Love and Blessings, Teresa xo
Monday, July 22, 2013
Praise the Lord!
It is with a joyous heart that I write this post!
Chris had a scan last week and his lungs are clear!!! The lymph node continues to be stable! And there is no cancer anywhere else!!! I cannot tell you how blessed we are feeling! God is amazing!
For the first time, Dr. Pili is now discussing other options to get rid of this pesky lymph node. We will talk to him this week. In the meantime, we are praying that God lead us down the path for complete healing. Thank you for all your love and support. We are certainly not done yet, but our path is looking brighter! I will keep you posted on treatments as we figure out the next step in our journey.
In other news, Chris and I are having a relaxing summer. This is the first "official" summer that I'm not working (I don't count last summer because that wasn't much of a summer anyway.) We are enjoying waking up and letting the days come to us. We've been working on small decorating projects, gardening, bike riding, pool hopping, cooking, and of course playing with the pups...quite a busy job in itself!
Chris's family have been in town and it has been wonderful getting to visit with all of them! With everyone spread out over the country, it's hard to get together. We were able to have many cookouts, lunches, and visits in which we were able to see all the extended family at one point or another! It's been terrific getting to know my new Irish roots and learn that Mary is a very popular name among the Irish!
I'll sign off this happy post with a picture of Chris, Stella and I from the Fourth of July. It was hard to keep her still because we were at my parents house with all her pup cousins! She didn't want to miss out on any of the action!
love and blessings,
Teresa xo
PS Please continue the prayers! God is listening!
Chris had a scan last week and his lungs are clear!!! The lymph node continues to be stable! And there is no cancer anywhere else!!! I cannot tell you how blessed we are feeling! God is amazing!
For the first time, Dr. Pili is now discussing other options to get rid of this pesky lymph node. We will talk to him this week. In the meantime, we are praying that God lead us down the path for complete healing. Thank you for all your love and support. We are certainly not done yet, but our path is looking brighter! I will keep you posted on treatments as we figure out the next step in our journey.
In other news, Chris and I are having a relaxing summer. This is the first "official" summer that I'm not working (I don't count last summer because that wasn't much of a summer anyway.) We are enjoying waking up and letting the days come to us. We've been working on small decorating projects, gardening, bike riding, pool hopping, cooking, and of course playing with the pups...quite a busy job in itself!
Chris's family have been in town and it has been wonderful getting to visit with all of them! With everyone spread out over the country, it's hard to get together. We were able to have many cookouts, lunches, and visits in which we were able to see all the extended family at one point or another! It's been terrific getting to know my new Irish roots and learn that Mary is a very popular name among the Irish!
I'll sign off this happy post with a picture of Chris, Stella and I from the Fourth of July. It was hard to keep her still because we were at my parents house with all her pup cousins! She didn't want to miss out on any of the action!
love and blessings,
Teresa xo
PS Please continue the prayers! God is listening!
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Thursday already!?
I apologize! I know that I have wonderful, dedicated followers that check my blog daily when we are in the middle of treatment. I've been a very bad blogger this week. It's funny to think back a year ago when we began this journey. We were so scared and nervous. When we entered the hospital the first time, we had no idea what to expect. We read as much as we could trying to prepare ourselves for what was to come, all the while making ourselves more and more nervous. At this point, it's more of a routine. That scared feeling no longer exists. We know what to expect, we know what we are dealing with, and we enter the hospital ready to fight this disease with faith, strength, and a positive attitude! The nurses are so sweet. They seem to be quite impressed with my knowledge of the simple things. I can turn the blood pressure monitor on/off, measure liquid intake, convert temperatures to Fahrenheit from Celsius, and predict whether or not Chris will get the next dose! We are veterans at this point, receiving our induction into the 3 cycle IL2 group! We are very proud.
On a happy note, tomorrow is Friday!!! Chris is doing fantastic! He's tired, swollen, red, but he's gotten six doses and is praying for a seventh. According to the best nursing staff EVER, this is an amazing accomplishment during the last round of treatment. I personally believe God is making sure He gets Chris the doses he needs and seven sounds like it might be the blessed number.
Thanks for checking to see how we are doing. Many of our friends are off tomorrow. Enjoy the long weekend. I'm very grateful that I get to spend Monday at home with my family! This finish line is in our sight!
much love, Teresa xo
On a happy note, tomorrow is Friday!!! Chris is doing fantastic! He's tired, swollen, red, but he's gotten six doses and is praying for a seventh. According to the best nursing staff EVER, this is an amazing accomplishment during the last round of treatment. I personally believe God is making sure He gets Chris the doses he needs and seven sounds like it might be the blessed number.
Thanks for checking to see how we are doing. Many of our friends are off tomorrow. Enjoy the long weekend. I'm very grateful that I get to spend Monday at home with my family! This finish line is in our sight!
much love, Teresa xo
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Happy Birthday Christopher!
We are home! Chris is feeling fatigued, but okay. He did great this week and was able to get a total of 7 doses. Being discharged today was the perfect birthday present! I've posted a photo of Chris reading up on his present from me! A Nikon camera, so he can capture our beautiful family moments! Happy Birthday my love! You're an amazing husband.
Much love, Teresa xo
Much love, Teresa xo
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Happy Hump Day
Hi Everyone! Chris is doing well this week. He spends a lot of time sleeping off the side effects and I spend a lot of time watching reruns. I'm very happy it's Wednesday because after today, we are on the down slope for the week. Thank you for your continued thoughts and prayers. We are confident in our prayers and know that God's will -healing- is happening inside of Chris!
One additional note, it's Nurses Week! Throughout this blog I've talked about how wonderful the nurses have been during our journey. They are wonderful at what they do. We've developed friendships with many of them along the way and I cannot express the gratitude I have for everything they've done for Chris and I. They have made us comfortable and relaxed during this experience. Doctors could not do what they do without them. Happy Nurses Appreciation Week! We love you all on 5 West!
Much love, Teresa xo
One additional note, it's Nurses Week! Throughout this blog I've talked about how wonderful the nurses have been during our journey. They are wonderful at what they do. We've developed friendships with many of them along the way and I cannot express the gratitude I have for everything they've done for Chris and I. They have made us comfortable and relaxed during this experience. Doctors could not do what they do without them. Happy Nurses Appreciation Week! We love you all on 5 West!
Much love, Teresa xo
Friday, April 26, 2013
April Results
Forgive me for my late response. While I enjoy writing to all of you, I get tired of writing about illness. One of these days, I'm going to write on this blog just to write! We got some great news. The lung nodules are shrinking and disappearing while the lymph node is stable! It wonderful. We are very happy. This means we are going to Roswell to do a FINAL round of IL2. They will only allow three rounds because the drug is so toxic. We will go in on May 6th for a week and then return on the 20th for the final week of treatment.
Chris and I have really been focusing on our spiritual healing. We fully understand that God is behind this process and He is healing Christopher. We pray daily and I wanted to include one of my favorite Scriptures with all of you:
Matthew 18:19 "Agree with someone for your healing."
19. Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers. God is listening and He hears all of our wonderful friends and family praying and asking for our healing. It is because of you that our prayers are being answered!
I promise to write throughout treatment. Come back and visit the blog!
Much love, Teresa xo
Chris and I have really been focusing on our spiritual healing. We fully understand that God is behind this process and He is healing Christopher. We pray daily and I wanted to include one of my favorite Scriptures with all of you:
Matthew 18:19 "Agree with someone for your healing."
19. Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers. God is listening and He hears all of our wonderful friends and family praying and asking for our healing. It is because of you that our prayers are being answered!
I promise to write throughout treatment. Come back and visit the blog!
Much love, Teresa xo
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