Complications

The last post was a few weeks back and was full of good news. As I told you, Duke seems to think Linda's tumor may not be a glioblastoma (the worst), but rather an astrocytoma (the second worst). As far as prognosis goes, that means an extra year of life expectancy, though we continue to understand that our times are in the Lord's hands and the days of our lives are already determined by Him. Please pray with us that He will heal Linda completely (no contradiction in the last two sentences).

Almost as soon as we left Duke, some of the complications that go with cancer visited my dear wife and made themselves at home for awhile! Her immune system is down, so much so that she developed a lung infection. She has been checked for a blood clot in the lungs (CT scan) and for pneumonia (chest x-ray), but neither ailment was found. She has been quite miserable, though, with a horrific cough. Linda received two units of blood on Wednesday, which would have given her much more energy if not for the infection.

Another complication is that the next round of Temodar (chemo) has been delayed while her blood count returns to more normal levels. She is scheduled to start back this week. The plan is for two more rounds of Temodar over the next two months, then to introduce Avastin, a much stronger chemo. The concern with Avastin is bleeding, and since she is on coumadin, that may be a concern. If, as is possible, her tumor is an astrocytoma, we may have a little time to wait before introducing Avastin.

God has been gracious to us this week as we have been given clarity with regard to what is really important in life. We continually give thanks to God for His inexpressible gift (2 Corinthians 9:15) of eternal life in Jesus. As for this life, please pray that Linda's immune system will rebound and that she will get past this infection that has plagued her so this week. Thank you so very much for your prayers.