Zeros Again!

I am trying to post the actual video...

Here is a link for now

https://flipagram.com/f/1DxRlneAL4A

We had our zero birthdays last week. It's official...We are old.

Shawna made a Flipagram for us.

It reminded us about where we have been. Where we are now. How much God has done for us. 

It was also a great reminder about how important family is. Time passes so quickly. Kids grow up so fast. Our lives are so very short. We need to make the most of each day no matter what our circumstance.

This all reminded me of this great scripture...

Psalm 103Living Bible (TLB)

103 I bless the holy name of God with all my heart. 2 Yes, I will bless the Lord and not forget the glorious things he does for me.

3 He forgives all my sins. He heals me. 4 He ransoms me from hell. He surrounds me with loving-kindness and tender mercies. 5 He fills my life with good things! My youth is renewed like the eagle’s! 6 He gives justice to all who are treated unfairly. 7 He revealed his will and nature to Moses and the people of Israel.

8 He is merciful and tender toward those who don’t deserve it; he is slow to get angry and full of kindness and love. 9 He never bears a grudge, nor remains angry forever. 10 He has not punished us as we deserve for all our sins, 11 for his mercy toward those who fear and honor him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. 12 He has removed our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. 13 He is like a father to us, tender and sympathetic to those who reverence him. 14 For he knows we are but dust 15 and that our days are few and brief, like grass, like flowers, 16 blown by the wind and gone forever.

17-18 But the loving-kindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting to those who reverence him; his salvation is to children’s children of those who are faithful to his covenant and remember to obey him!

19 The Lord has made the heavens his throne; from there he rules over everything there is. 20 Bless the Lord, you mighty angels of his who carry out his orders, listening for each of his commands. 21 Yes, bless the Lord, you armies of his angels who serve him constantly.

22 Let everything everywhere bless the Lord. And how I bless him too!

More Good News!

Results from the ultrasound was that the UFO (unidentified fluid object) was a fluid filled cyst. 

Harmless. 

Thank you Jesus!!

Thank you all for your prayer and support

P.S. We ask continued prayer for our friend Maise. She has the same stage four kidney cancer as 

Debbie. She was not able to finish her IL2 due to it effecting her heart and had to recover from the treatment for several weeks. Please help us pray for complete healing in Jesus name for Maise!

Apokaradokia

Hi everyone!



Debbie has been doing great. She feels healthy and strong. We almost forget that she needs to continue to be scanned and monitored.

The latest scan was on May 30th.  The consultation appointment wasn't until two weeks later due to our vacation and a doctors conference. We kept getting questioned by others - "How can you wait to get the results?" We knew that the timing wasn't changing anything. We have surrendered the outcome. God has given us peace that surpasses understanding. I'm not saying that we don't get a little anxious from time to time. (Especially in the waiting room on consultation day) But God really gives us peace and perspective concerning the situation. He takes such good care of us!

The results of the scan were really good. Six of the tumors were unchanged. Three grew a little. One significantly shrank (almost in half!) The IL2 is continuing to work in boosting her immune system.

Thank you Jesus!

There is a new area of concern that the doctor wants to investigate further. There is something in her abdomen that he thought could be fluid. Debbie has an ultrasound on Monday. We will post the results soon.


We have heard sermons on being content with our circumstances. This really resonated with us because we have been learning to trust God with everything and not be worried about what is going on or what is going to happen. No "What if's". God REALLY is "in the waiting".


This message really spoke to me.
"Are You Headed in the Right Direction?"
by Steven Furtick

It is a teaching from Paul in Philipians. Paul was in prison and is preaching from there. Rather than go on about what has happened to him, he tells us his interpretation of what has happened. He isn't focusing on his circumstances, he is expectantly looking toward the future.

Steven tells us that if we know our WHY (We are here to glorify God), then no matter WHAT  happens to us we are OK. We have predetermined our WHY so the WHAT can't take away the WHY!

We can make it through the WHAT if we know the WHY!

Paul tells us not to worry. It may seem like a bad event, but faith is an interpretation of an event that sees progress even in pain.

Phillipians 1:12  I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.


Paul tells us that no matter what happens, we can still have eager expectation and hope! Paul makes up a word to tell us about this hope. He joins three Greek words together to express this hope...

APOKARADOKIA:

To turn away with concentration ignoring other interests and stretch your head forward toward the future.

The problem with many of us today is that we have our heads stuck so far up our past that we can't see our future!

Get your head out of your past and stretch it toward your mission in faith!

Love you all,

Thank you for your continued prayers.


Here is the video:

and the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xt7QudS0SWc

Holding

Lately, Debbie has been feeling really good. 

Some days she has had some nausea and headaches and has been very tired. When she feels like that, it doesn't take much to start letting the enemy penetrate our armor. The "what if's" creep in. The fear of the unknown begins to build. This is exactly the time we are reminded to put on the whole armor of God.

Ephesians 6:10-18The Message (MSG)

A Fight to the Finish

10-12 And that about wraps it up. God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.

13-18 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.

God is so faithful! He has given us comfort and peace throughout this whole roller coaster ride. We don't worry about "what if's" We don't live cancer. Cancer is not who we are. We don't think about it all the time. Sometimes we actually forget that we are going through this monitoring process of CT scans.

Debbie had a CT scan on Monday and we had the scan results appointment yesterday.

The results were really good!

One of the nodules is gone, three shrank in size, three stayed the same size, and one grew 1.1mm

The doctor said she is stable.

Thank you Jesus!!

We are so very thankful!

Roller Coaster

Ok, here we go...

Debbie had a CT scan on Wednesday and we had an appointment on Thursday to find out the results. 

The doctor told us that Debbie isn't stable any longer. Most of the tumors/nodules remained unchanged to slightly smaller. A couple of them were slightly larger. The most concerning however was a new mass in her right lung. It is small 7.8mm, but they are telling us that it wasn't there on the last scan.

We weren't prepared for this and it has taken a few days to process. 

It's sort of a punch in the gut. Everything is different, yet everything is the same. We are still surrendering the outcome to God. We are still turning over the entire situation to God. We still are believing that Debbie will be healed and whole. We will not live in fear. We will continue to live in the truth and we will fight.

The plan right now is to have Debbie get scanned in 2 or 3 months to see if there is growth. We will determine the plan of attack at that point. Meanwhile, we will be researching our alternatives.

Please join us as we continue to pray for healing and for there to be no mass on the next scan. We rebuke cancer in Jesus name! We are also praying for wisdom and discernment regarding treatment.

Thank you!

Rick

Scan to Scan

Debbie has been feeling ok on most days. Good on some days...bad on others. She couldn't really describe how she felt. She just felt wrong...and very tired.

Debbie's blood work  hadn't been ready at the consultation, so they weren't able to go over it. She received a call one day saying that her thyroid levels were very low and that she needed to start taking medication for it immediately. She has hypothyroidism. This was caused by the IL2.

Hypothyroidism has many side effects. Some of the ones Debbie is experiencing are extreme fatigue and hair loss. She estimates that she has lost more than 50% of her hair. 

As we processed the information from the CT scan consultation and the blood work, we began having more and more questions. We called and spoke to the nurse practitioner that was involved with Debbie's treatment. 

Debbie asked if she was in agreement with the doctor's plan to not carry out Weeks 5 & 6. She said she agreed. She explained that Debbie's body had been pushed as far as they were comfortable with. Debbie only received two doses on Week 4. Debbie would likely only get one or two Week 5  and they may not even have her go through Week 6. She said that Debbie's body had responded as well as possible to IL2 and that her cancer was stable. 

What?!?!

The doctor had told her that she had no evidence of disease. I don't know about you, but NED is very different than your cancer being stable.

We had planned on speaking again with the doctor, but he was on vacation for two weeks and we hadn't had the brain scan yet. So...we waited for the MRI.

Debbie finally had her brain scan. She was very strong and went with the regular MRI instead of the open MRI. God helped her through it. For a brain MRI, Debbie is strapped down and has headphones put on. There is a metal cage that is snapped shut over her face. She is supposed to remain still for 45 minutes. If she moves or the image gets messed up, they have to start all over again.

The results showed no cancer in her brain!

Thank you Jesus!!

Debbie made an appointment with an endocrine specialist to help with her thyroid issue. We wanted someone that can focus on this one area. The medication takes awhile to kick in and is tricky to figure out the correct dosage.

We had a consultation on Wednesday with doctor Smith. It was mainly to clear up some of the questions we had, but also to do blood work. He said that depending on her thyroid levels, he would probably have to increase her medication. They have to start out the medication at a lower level so it won't shock the heart. He reiterated about not having her do another round of treatment and told us that another round of IL2 could have killed Debbie. He was positive that the treatment had done it's job and was happy with her results. He told Debbie that her cancer was in remission. He told us that if a persons cancer comes back, it is typically within 2-3 years. She needs to be scanned every few months and won't be dubbed "cancer free" until 5 years of clean scans.

Dr Smith called back later that day and told Debbie that her thyroid levels were near normal and he wasn't going to increase her medication! Thank you Jesus!!

All of this has been challenging for us to know how to convey Debbie's situation to others. We
have to stick with the facts...the truth.

The truth is we are very thankful and blessed. We know Debbie has been healed. We will take the rest of this journey scan by scan. It is challenging to not have it all wrapped up in a neat little package, but we will continue to surrender the outcome to God. He is the Great Physician and Healer!

Mark 5:34 "Daughter, you took a risk of faith and now you're healed and whole. Live well, live blessed! Be healed of your plague.

Miracle Believed, Miracle Experienced!

The family at Cannon Beach

The 

Debbie had her CT scan on Wednesday and the consultation was Thursday. The scan showed that the large tumor is gone and the lymph node is normal size. Dr Smith is not having Debbie go through treatment weeks 5 & 6. He says that the risk outweighs the benefit for Debbie. He says that the treatment has done what it was supposed to and was a success. He was a little concerned that Debbie has still been experiencing some headaches and nausea, so he has recommended a brain scan to ensure the cancer has not spread there. Once the scan comes back clear, Debbie has to get scanned every 3 months for at least a year. 

We are still processing this information. We are incredibly overwhelmed and thankful to our Amazing God! We had surrendered the outcome to God. We have believed that Debbie was going to be healed. We have daily thanked God for her health. We have daily thanked God for her healing. We have prayed for NED (No Evidence of Disease) and that's what we have received!

We will continue to keep you posted.

Thanks again for all of your prayers and support!

THANK YOU JESUS!!!