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Chemo update
Marc here - just wanted to let you all know that dad went in for his blood work yesterday and his white count was high enough that they administered his dose of chemo! That's an answer to prayer, and thanks to all of you for praying about it. Now just keep praying that the chemo would prove to be effective and that the cancer would go into remission.
Monday Update
Hi all - Marc here. Dawn and I stopped by to visit mom and dad last night, hooked up their DVD player and watched some old episodes of the Muppet show. Loads of fun!
It looks as though dad's been pretty tired this weekend again, and I think he's a bit down right now, so keep that in your prayers. This week's schedule is pretty much normal - exercise on Monday and Wednesday, and a trip to the doctor on Tuesday. No chemo this week - just blood work to find out how that white count is coming along.
Keep praying for mom and dad to be in good spirits as they battle this disease; for the white blood cell count to rise (and the red count too); and most of all for the cancer to shrink and go into remission, either through the medication or a pure act of God.
And thank you again for praying and checking this site for updates - we all really appreciate and continue to need your support! It's great to be a part of the family of God.
Chemo update
Marc here - I just got off the phone with mom. They were on the way back from today's chemo appointment - here's the scoop. When they got there, they immediately drew labs from Dad. It turns out that Dad's white blood cell count has dropped a bit more than the doctor expected, and his red count dropped as well. Because of this, his IV chemo was not administered. Instead, the doctor has put dad on a drug called Neulasta, which is intended to increase his white blood cell count. (White cells are the disease fighters, in case you'd forgotten your seventh grade biology.)
The upside to the Neulasta is more white cells; the downside is that it causes achy bones. So pray for dad - first that his white count will rise significantly, and secondly that the side effects of the medication will be minimal.
Dad will continue to take the oral chemo medication that he started last week - that was a fourteen day course of medication, and he'll take it until it's gone. Next week, he will go back to the doctor for labs only, and based on the results of that, they will determine what level of chemo dad should be receiving.
So you have your assignment - pray for dad's white blood count to increase, for relief from side effects from the Neulasta, for good results from next week's blood work, and for the cancer to go into remission in general. Keep praying, and feel free to write with any questions.
Weekly Update
Marc Here! Time to update our weekly schedule of cancer related activities. Mom and dad will be heading to the MAC for exercise tonight and Wednesday night. Chemo will be taking place tomorrow at noon.
I just spoke with mom, and dad has been quite tired again this weekend, so keep that in your prayers. Hopefully he'll perk up a bit again soon. In the meantime, keep praying that the chemo would be effective and that the cancer would go into remission. And hey, even if that chemo isn't effective, God can very well knock that cancer out on His own, too. So just keep praying.
As always, if you have any questions, there are links to your right to e-mail me or my folks. Feel free to use them!
