~RESULTS~

I talked to earlier this same and again just now.

Jan's MRI showed a spot at the front of the brain that was what they called "fuzzy." It is where there has been dead tissue previously. The oncologist and Radiology physician both think this is NOT tumor, but that it is caused from the Avastin which is the treatment Jan is on.

The plan is for Jan to remain on the current dose of Avastin and return to MD Anderson in 6 weeks for more testing. The thoughts are that this spot will be gone or smaller at that time.

Please continue to pray for Jan and our family; that she is able to beat this nasty cancer.

They are back home now

Love to all!

~Saturated with Christ~

Christ's working Himself into us is not a matter of behavior or self improvement. It is a matter of our being inwardly saturated with the Shekinah glory of God.

~HOPE~

Hope is a belief in a positive outcome related to events and circumstances in one's life. Hope is the feeling that what is wanted can be had or that events will turn out for the best.

In a religious context, it is not considered as a physical emotion but as a spiritual grace. Hope is distinct from positive thinking, which refers to a therapeutic or systematic process used in psychology for reversing pessimism. The term false hope refers to a hope based entirely around a fantasy or an extremely unlikely outcome.

Jan's Latest MRI Results

God Answers Prayers!!!!!

No signs of cancer!! All Clear!!!!

Oncologist said that being on this treatment now for 6 months indicates that it is going to control the cancer. They are now starting to reduce her treatment and will continue to gradually reduce treatment to where she is only on a maintenance dose!!!!!

She will be starting PT since the Avastin has a tendency to make your body ache. Plus with the reduction in treatment this will also help.

She doesn't have to go back to MD Anderson now until May!!!!

PRAISE GOD!!!! HE HAS BEEN SO GOOD TO US!

Test Results~

Jan, once again, got great results. All is still clear! We are thrilled, as you can only imagine, to hear this great news.

She will return in February to MD Anderson. If all is still clear, her treatment schedule will change in that she will get treatment every 3 weeks, instead of every 2 weeks.

Thanks for continuing to join up in praying for complete earthly healing!

Jan ~ Testing

Jan is at MD Anderson. She did her testing last night and sees the oncologist today at 11:30. Please pray for great results!

It has been a long time...

Haven't posted anything in quite some time. Life in general seems rather busy. Probably too busy. I seem to involve myself in too many things that I'm scrambling to keep up with them all. Thanksgiving was good. A lot to be thankful for.

Jan continues to do well, especially in light of the fact that she has been fighting this nasty cancer for 2 years on November 13, 2009. The treatment she is on now seems to be working well. Please pray for her. I know it isn't easy for her. She does handle it like a champ. But, the treatment is hard on her body. If I could have one wish granted today, it would be for her complete earthly healing.

Our family, really Jan's immediate family, has babies popping up everywhere. Soon there will be 4 baby/little girls. Don't get to see them much, but they are fun when I do.

Jan returns to MD Anderson this next week for testing. Please pray for great results.

Hope and pray you all had a great Thanksgiving.

Love,
Cheryl

Wednesday's Word

~Thankful Thursday~

You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done.

Psalm 92:4 NLT

For More Thankful Thursday, visit Lynn at Spiritually Unequal Marriage.

Have a "Thankful Thursday!

Cheryl

Update

I guess I forgot to come back and put the information here about Jan's visit at MD Anderson this week. I posted for her on her blog and on FB, but forgot about here.

So, here is the GREAT NEWS:

I've talked to Jan and Mom a few times today. Jan had the staples taken out and was able to see the MRI which was done after surgery a couple of weeks ago. Clear. The tumors are gone. Jan said, "God is Great!"

They were also able to see her oncologist and get the newest treatment plan in the works. She will be on a "drip" chemo (Avastin) this time, but she will be able to do her treatment here in Oklahoma. She also gets somewhat of a break and only goes to MD Anderson every 2 months for testing. She will not start the new treatment for 2 more weeks so as to allow complete healing. She is feeling great.

Avastin has just recently been FDA approved in the treatment of GBM and is showing great results. Dr. Gilbert informed them of the side effects, which are around 5%.

Jan wanted me to relay that as far back as she can remember she has been praying for God to take the tumors away. She just never thought it would be through surgery.

Please join us in praising God for these great results.

It was awesome to hear the joy in Jan's voice when I talked to her after getting this report!

Have a great weekend!

Cheryl

~Prayer & Praise~

Jan returns to MD Anderson this week to follow up with the surgeon and hopefully the pathology results will have returned and she can get started on the next phase. She is feeling really good, especially since she is not on treatment. She has done fantastic since her surgery. Thanks for all your prayers!

All I've done lately is making jewelry. I've started a new blog for the jewelry. I've been talking with a little boutique near my house. They are going to a weekend trade show (like in Canton, Texas), but this one is in McKinney, Texas this next weekend and they are taking my jewelry with other items in their boutique. They are working to get into Canton weekend trade show as well. I'm pretty excited, but cautious as well.

Have a great Monday!!

Cheryl

A good friend sent the following to me last week after Jan's surgery. I've pulled some interesting parts out of it.

EXCELLENCE...

I have come to realize over the years that our minute might be long or short depending on what God is doing with us at the time. I have been in a moment where I was sure God stopped the universe for a reason that goes beyond anything my human mind could ever comprehend and when I look back on those moments I am reminded of the story of Joshua where God held up the sun to help Joshua claim a victory. I am sure it was an amazing miracle to observe for Joshua and a reminder that the God we serve has the power to hold up the sun and guide us to victory every single day of our life.

I believe that if God does that for one He will always do it for someone else don't you? I am referring to those moments where we may encounter someone who is experiencing a battle of some sort and it seems that God stops time just for us to help heal a heart or win the battle like Joshua. I believe we encounter moments like this all day long but we make a decision to give or walk away to be defeated or have victory. God continues to show that His will is always victorious if we will only be faithful and obedient to what He places on our hearts.

We will never understand the mysteries of God until we get to heaven but we can embrace those everyday moments where He is extending an invitation for us to experience His hand in an extraordinary way when we are willing to continue to serve others and fight for people and love.

I hope at this moment as you listen to my heart that you will truly open yours and ask yourself am I ready for an “extraordinary moment?”

Pretty powerful, huh? Wow. I am continually reminded that we serve a God of victory and He wants us to walk victoriously every single day of our life.

God works in mysterious ways but this is for sure… He brings people together for His purposes and whatever man may perceive as big or small it doesn't matter because when Gods hand is on something he will multiply it just like he did the loaf of bread. I am sure the little boy who gave Jesus his fish and bread could have never "imagined" the "extraordinary moment" when it was multiplied to feed thousands. We can never ignore the little things because that is when God does His greatest work. We can never despise our weakest moments because that is when God is always at His best in us. We don't have to know how God will multiply the bread we just have to know the HE can and HE will.

I hope you enjoyed this!

Cheryl

~God At Work~

A week ago today Jan was having brain surgery. God has truly been at work. She is doing fantastic. So good for her body to have a chance to rebound with this time off treatment. She is in a good place with having all the visible cancer GONE! She has handled this all so gracefully. It is awesome to see God at work.

The pathology results should be back any day now. Jan will return to see the surgeon on July 15, next week, as well as her oncologist. Please join us in praying for her next treatment plan, as well as complete healing!!

~Happy Independence Day~

Just a quick note, Jan is home. I saw her yesterday and she is doing great. I heard some funny funny stories of things she said the first day. I'll share one:

Soon after coming out of recovery, she motioned for Mom to come closer to her. She thanked Mom for going with them, for helping her out with meals, and all the things Mom has done for her and Gerald. Mom asked if she would have done the same if the roles were reversed. Mom said she thought for a minute and then said, "yes she would feed her dog food." Jan can be rather witty and it appears more so after she comes out of anesthesia.

We are so thankful God answered our prayers this week, as well as over the last 20 months.

Have a great 4th, and be careful!!

Cheryl

~News~

It looks like Jan will be released from the hospital today. They will then have to travel from Houston to Oklahoma. Mom said she has done very well.

Please pray for safe travels and continue to pray for the next step and that she can beat this nasty disease.

Thanks again for all the prayers, comments, love, and friendship.

Have a safe and blessed weekend.

Cheryl

~New Day~

Gerald just called and Jan had a very restful night. She had morphine for a headache about 7:00 last night, but since then she has only had Tylenol. She had a couple of episodes of getting sick from the anesthesia, but has had breakfast this morning.

The surgeon has just been in and said he got all of the tumor. He has looked at the MRI she had last night and it looks great. It is looking like she will come home Friday. She has called her boys this morning and talked to them, so I know they are thrilled.

The nursing staff is in with her now and they are going to take her catheter out, which will thrill her as she wanted it out yesterday.

Thank you all for all your prayers, comments, love and support.

~Out of Recovery~

Jan has made it out of recovery. She is still a bit sleepy, but otherwise is doing great. She remembers everything and is able to retain the information she is given. Mom and Gerald have been able to visit with her and as Mom put it, "she is full of it."

Thank you for all your prayers, comments and love!

Cheryl

~Recovery Time~

The surgeon just finished talking to Gerald and Mom. Jan is in recovery now. She is awake, but sleepy. She did really well during surgery and he removed all of the tumor. The tumor showed dead tissue, but also some activity, which is what the PET scan showed. It will be a few hours before she gets out of recovery. She will not be in ICU, but in a room but will have a nurse who is only caring for her. She should move to a regular room tomorrow and get to come home Friday or Saturday.

It is our understanding that there has always been some activity at this site. The surgeon said since there is activity, they will be changing her treatment. We will know more about what comes next either the end of this week or the first of next week.

Please continue to pray that she recovers well and no problems arise from this surgery. Pray also that the next treatment is one that is well tolerated.

Mom will update me again when she has news or when they get to see Jan.

Thanks for all your prayers and support.

~First Surgery Update~

Received the first update about 10:45 from Mom.

Report is that surgery started at 8:47 this morning. The nurse reporting had gone by at 10:00. They had removed the main tumor and were getting ready to clean up the area and close. Apparently closing takes as long as opening.

Jan has done great. Quiet surgery and all has gone well.

They are sending the tumor off to pathology, but the surgeon believed that he would have a good idea if it was dead tissue or active.

Next update from nurse is at Noon, but she said doctor would be by before then.

Thank you all for joining us in prayer. I will post more as I am updated.

Cheryl

~Update~

The surgery is to begin around 8:00 a.m. this morning. Jan had a great day yesterday. God answered prayers in a big way. She was not anxious at all. She had some additional testing, which included blood work and a MRI to map the exact location.

They also met with the surgeon again and they are very pleased with him. He explained everything what should occur; said her recovery will be easier and different than last time. She will not be in ICU, but will have a nurse who attends to just her. Tomorrow morning she should be able to go into a regular room and one person can stay with her all night tonight.

Jan was very upset when they saw him last week and he was very concerned and wanted to make sure that he didn't do anything that caused Jan being upset last week when she saw him.

Thank you for your prayers and I will continue to update as I have information.