Hello, Ya'll!  Happy Spring!

I have some happy news regarding DJ's pulmonary lumpy-bumps, but first - please read these beautiful words written by Sarah Young in a "new" little book I've recently discovered, Jesus Calling; from April 27:

"Come to Me with empty hands and an open heart, ready to receive abundant blessings.  I know the depth and breadth of your neediness.  Your life-path has been difficult, draining you of strength.  Come to Me for nurture.  Let Me fill you up with My Presence.  I in you, and you in Me.  My Power flows most freely into weak ones aware of their need for Me.  Faltering steps of dependence are not lack of faith; they are links to My Presence."   This brings to my mind the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 - "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

And now for the news: DJ took his round #4 of FOLFIRI chemotherapy the week of April 9, and he took his fifth round this week, beginning on April 23 (Happy Birthday to Jasmine Joy Johnson!).  In between those treatments, he received a PET/CT scan which Dr. Spillane reviewed with us last Monday just before round #5.  The happy news is that the tumor which measured 2.2 centimeters on January 18, 2012 has shrunk slightly to 1.8 centimeters.  Hooray!  That means that FOLFIRI seems to be doing the job (even though, as an acquaintance of mine with the same colon-cancer-metastasized-to-the-lung as DJ has, wrote in his "Caring Bridge" blog, that FOLFIRI is full of fury; and I agree:  nausea, constipation, fatigue, a funky coating of the mouth and lips, diarrhea; ai-yi-yi!).  And so Dr. Spillane would like DJ to take one more round of chemotherapy and then head of to surgery in order to remove that cancerous blob from his lung.

Here's what might happen:  we are scheduled for a consultation this coming Thursday (May 3) with a lung surgeon at the Stanford Cancer Center; DJ is scheduled to receive FOLFIRI round #6 beginning Monday May 7; we are scheduled for another consultation with a radiation oncologist at the Stanford Cancer Center the following week (May 10); and we are scheduled for another chitchat with local surgeon Dr. Howard Hayashi (whom you may recall I spoke of with high regards in a former post, and whom Dr. Spillane would prefer that DJ choose as the one to remove the tumor from his lung) on May 15.  Perhaps DJ would be operated upon at the end of May, perhaps he would take the month of June-or-so to recover from surgery, and perhaps he would resume chemotherapy in July and finish out the remaining 6 treatments (FOLFIRI is generally administered in 12 rounds).

Here's what else might happen: the Paso Robles Public School District will soon be coming to the end of the 2011/2012 school year, and Alexandra Bigelow will likely spend several weeks playing summer volleyball while Brooke Bigelow may spend several weeks playing All-Star softball and Caedmon Van Bigelow will probably spend many, many hours building and playing with Legos.  What do you think that I will be doing?

  

The end of #3

I write to you on the last day of this the 3rd cycle of DJ's current FOLFIRI chemotherapy treatment, the day on which he is the most healthy and in which I mostly forget about cancer and its affect on our lives.  Well, I don't forget about cancer philosophically, because my mind is ever processing information and considering and thinking and wanting to learn and to be stimulated.  But, I forget about cancer and chemotherapy practically speaking, since DJ's health is very close to 100% recovered from the effects of chemotherapy.  Hooray!  Thank you, LORD, for health and healing, for mercy and grace, for relief from chemotherapy-induced symptoms for 4-6 days!  I am very grateful!  And I am very grateful, Dear Reader, for your important part in the relief that DJ experiences; your encouragment, your prayers for him and for our family, your love and support on our behalf, are I'm sure that which see us through. 

Caedmon, DJ, and the canine

DJ loves his LadyDog

This past week has been a peaceful one for me, in that the children are on holiday in celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.  It was DJ's "off-week" for treatment, and he returned to work; Alexandra Bigelow and 11 of her 8th grade dual-immersion classmates headed off to Cost Rica for a much-anticipated trip in which they are using their Spanish (photos can be found at http://www.georgeflamson.blogspot.com/), and I look forward to her return later this week.  Brooke and Caedmon have been sleeping in, hanging out with friends, and enjoying leisurely holiday time.  Yesterday DJ took us to Boomers in Santa Maria for an afternoon of miniature golf and go-karts and batting cages and those sorts of American entertainment.  Caedmon Van Bigelow scored a hole-in-one not once but twice!  I am not ashamed to report that I came in last place at mini-golf, scoring more strokes than my 7-year old and my almost-11-year old.  Except that I think DJ should have given me a 1-stroke-per-hole handicap, which means that he only beat me by one stroke, not by 19.  Raise your hand if you agree!  :-)



Hole 11:
Caedmon scored a hole-in-one, Brooke holed in her golfball in two strokes,
and I made par at only three.




A report regarding the severity of DJ's symptoms for this most recent third round of chemotherapy treatments: overall, the nausea (caused by the 5-FU chemo drug) was less intense, although the constipation (caused by the anti-nausea drugs) and the diarrhea (caused by the Irinotecan chemo drug) were more pronounced and prolonged for him.  Fatigue is another symptom that seemed to be more intense and more prolonged; but after the first 9 or 10 days of the cycle, the past 4 or 5 days have been alright.  Hooray!

Next up: another week of Easter holiday for the children; FOLFIRI treatment #4 for DJ tomorrow, Monday, April 9, 2012 through Wednesday, April 11, 2012; and I hope to lay eyes upon Alexandra Bigelow upon her return late Wednesday.

Thank you for loving us!  "He is risen!  He is risen, indeed!"  Thank you, Lord, for resurrection!!

Words of Wisdom and Faith




This is a photo of my view of one of the chemotherapy treatment rooms
at Coastal Integrative Cancer Care in San Luis Obispo, California,
from my usual spot in the farthest-away corner
as I sit beside DJ (not pictured - he was to my left, out of camera view).
It was a rare and fleeting moment in which no other person was receiving treatment.

 

A childhood friend sent an e-mail to me in mid-February when she learned of DJ's current diagnosis; and her words are so beautiful and good and faith-fueling, that I cannot delete them from my e-mail box until you read them, also:

"I just heard one of our pastors speak on 'God's delay' in answering our prayers, and here are some of the notes I jotted down:

* When God delays, it's probably because it's not just about you. When He delays, something deeper and greater is able to happen in us because things are unearthed that wouldn't be unearthed if He had answered quickly.

* God's delay is FOR me, but not just about me. John 12:11 says that on account of Lazarus being raised from the dead, many believed. But Jesus delayed in coming to Mary & Martha when he heard that Lazarus was sick. Am I going to be okay with the suffering that happens in God's delay if many believe because God's glory was shown? Will I not just tolerate it, but DELIGHT in that?

I am praying that God will heal DJ, for DJ's sake, for your sake, for both of your families' sake, for your childrens' sake. But I am confident that God's glory is being revealed through you as you walk this journey.


I sure do love you and want you to know that I am lifting you guys up before our intimate, personal, and infinite God. My deepest desire for you is that you know God deeper every day."

Thank you, Allison Molly Ulm Strovas!  :-)

And "Thank you!" to each and every one of you who pray for our family, who encourage us with your words of love and kindness, who prepare a meal for our family, who bless and serve Mildred Crabtree, who care for our children, who ask about DJ's health and well-being.  I am deeply grateful for every kindness, every prayer, every display of love that you show to us.  May the LORD bless you indeed!