Update Sat Sept 4th: Chemo cycle 4 was a struggle. Mary had the infusion on Fri Aug 13th, and as in the first three sets of this research drug, she caught a chest infection. By Thur Aug 19th her temperature was too high and she had a sharp chest pain so back into hospital she went. An antibiotic drip sorted the infection almost immediately, but Mary could not escape the hospital web! Her specialist team decided that she could not go home till her white blood cell count, forced down by the chemo, had risen. That took six days. The family headed in most days for meals & evenings together. And on Tuesday Aug 24th Mary was overjoyed to get home at last!

Wed & Thur that week we had the opportunity to attend a conference. Bill Johnson (from Bethel Church in Redding, California) was the main speaker. Bethel has focussed on the healing power of Jesus Christ for some 15 years and has an international reputation. It was an inspiring time, we learned a lot, and Mary received a great deal of prayer.

A scheduled CT scan followed on Tue Aug 31st, and as we went to an appointment with the oncologist the next day, we wondered if the result would be the evidence of a miracle. It was not - in fact the cancer had started to progress once more, meaning that chemo two had ceased to prove beneficial.

That was of course a sobering moment for us, and its a tough time for the kids. The oncologist advised Mary to have a complete month rest from treatment, to have a bone scan to check the sternum pain, and to begin in October a third medication option. Iressa or Tarceva has around a 10% chance of being beneficial, & very few side-effects. The first month of the drug is free, and during that month it is frequently possible to determine if it will provide benefit. But if it is continued, the drug is unfunded for this 3rd line treatment & will cost $2600 a month.

In many ways we feel that we are simply now at the exact same place as in October last year: we were advised that the drugs could provide no cure, just a delaying action. Jesus is our only hope of healing, and we are inclined to keep holding on in prayer for that healing. He said for us to be shamelessly persistent in praying for what we need, which implies delay. So that's what we continue to do. For us to live is Christ and to die is gain.

 

Lord Jesus you are a miracle-working God and we trust you.

Persist in prayer with us,

love,

Charlie & Mary