Battle Plan - May 21, 2012

Today started out kind of rough. I was having a lot of pain in my left arm which is from a totally separate thing that comes and goes. I also let myself get too low on my blood sugar.  The blood sugar was in a way amusing because when I blessed the food I said "thank you Heavenly Father for my son Jesus Christ" and then I started to mumble and not make sense.  It took every bit of will power from Gloria to hold in her laughter. It was amusing to say the least. The day however turned out to be a great one.

I went to the oncologist and I have to say I am very grateful to be in the hands of Dr. Johnson and to finally have a Battle Plan to kick this cancer all over the place.  As Gloria said, "It's Go Time!" I was impressed that Dr. Johnson wanted to know everything from my diabetes to my broken leg from 1999. He gave some very encouraging and valuable information. He said that in his 20 plus years of practicing he has never seen a thymic carcinoma spread to other areas of the body, that they usually stay contained in the chest area. He also said that he wanted to start with 2 cycles of chemotherapy, re-examine the tumor, and if it has been shrunk adequately, Dr. Goff can go back in and remove all of it.  Dr. Johnson said if that is the case, then he is confident I can be cured completely from this cancer, and I have a lot of faith that I will cured from it. 

I have to do an eco-cardiogram on Thursday to make sure my heart is strong enough for one of the drugs, and some more blood work to be done as well. If everything goes well with this I will probably start chemotherapy the first week of June.  Dr. Johnson gave us the option of doing it outpatient or inpatient and Gloria and I decided that inpatient for the first cycle would be the best so that we can see how I do and so that Gloria can learn from the nurses what to look for and basically so both of us will have peace of mind.  If I do well with the first cycle then the second I will do as outpatient. They want to be aggressive with this so each cycle will consist of three days of treatment followed by 2 1/2 weeks between the second cycle and then it will repeat.  He said the drugs they will be using are very strong and it is more than likely that I will lose my hair. With that said, we'll be having a head shaving party the second week of June so if anyone wants to join us just let me know.  I think having a positive attitude is key to this and so why not have a good time along the way.

To finish out the day our family came over and helped us finish up some weeding that needed to be done so that Tia Lucinda can start to plant flowers out front and some veggies in the back. It was a great night to have the family there and showing their love and support. Everyone has busy lives and it seems we always have commitments and other things pulling us every which way, I'm just grateful that when it truly is needed that my family is there, that is what counts!

I'm also grateful to all family and friends near and far. We have been so blessed with help in the house, help in the yard, delicious food on our table, visits, the facebook messages, the texts, emails, phone calls, and the list goes on and on. Truly we have been the receivers of charity which is the true love of Christ. I can't express how grateful Gloria and I are to know that we have an army cheering us on from all parts of the world. Thank you all so much.  I'll have another update on Thursday.