12/25/11 - A Very Merry Christmas Gift!

Good Morning Everyone - First and foremost - MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS!  We wanted to share our Christmas Card below with each of you!

We have some FANTASTIC news to share with you all and we pray it brings each of you an extra special Christmas gift as you read our update in the same way it has us!  After meeting with the Univ of MD Team this past Friday, we learned that Jason's tumor in his esophagus is GONE!  Let us say that again bc it sounds so WONDERFUL - GONE!!!  PRAISES TO GOD!  Also, the cancer has not spread to any other areas of Jas's body - yet another HALLELUJAH - PRAISE GOD!  Are you all grinning from ear to ear with us right now?

Additionally, we received information on the lymph nodes that had shown cancer activity when treatment initially began.  Unfortunately, the biopsy from the scope and the PET were not able to distinguish whether the activity that was showing in the lymph nodes is a result of the radiation effects or if it's cancer activity.  So, we were told that this would remain an unknown unless Jas opted to have surgery and at the point of removing the lymph nodes, they would be tested to have a more definitive answer.

Now that we have the BIG news out there, we thought many of you would be interested to hear the details of our amazing week from the beginning : )  So... we asked for you to pray the No Fear Prayer for us and wow were the effects of your prayers on our behalf AMAZING!  We truly were blanketed with peace and God spoke to us and protected us in so many ways to not allow the devil 1 second to sneak in. We know that God is so much bigger than cancer and the only "C" that we want to have rule our lives is Christ and not cancer!

So we spent the entire day on Tuesday at the hospital while Jason started the day off with his PET and then ended the day with a scope.  Very interesting what we learned from Dr. Greenwald (gastroenterologist) who performed Jas' scope, which is the same Dr. we met with a few months ago to confirm Jas' diagnosis.  After completing the scope, we asked Dr. Greenwald to share with us what he would do in Jas' situation.  As a reminder, we've been praying for clarity on whether or not Jas should proceed with surgery if it's an option and it's been a tough tough decision.  Keep in mind at that point of the week we had just found out that the tumor was gone (told as soon as the scope was complete) but that they more than likely wouldn't be able to tell us about the lymph nodes and whether or not they were showing signs of cancer activity.  What Dr. Greenwald shared with us was quite eye opener. To boil it down - the 2 best tools they have to monitor esophageal cancer are the scope and PET.  The scope is 30% accurate which really surprised us!  He shared that if they detect cancer with the scope then it's 100% accurate.  However, if they say there's no sign of cancer - it's actually only 30% accurate.  WOW!  That stat sure make us cautious as we prepared for Friday!  Also, he shared that the PET scan only shows sign of cancer activity larger than 1 cm.  Holy Cow!  Again, not something we had heard of before.  Another piece of information is that this type of cancer has a 50% recurrent rate in the esophagus in individuals who do not have the surgery.  So... needless to say, he strongly recommended having the surgery done next to put Jas' best foot forward to try to eliminate the cancer completely if it were still there and just not showing up on these 2 tools.  Also, the other factor is that we don't and won't know whether or not there's still cancer in the lymph nodes.  So, we continued to pray for clarity and for God to prepare our hearts for whatever the news would be on Friday.  Still not knowing if the cancer had spread elsewhere at that point.

So fast forward to Thursday night.  From 4pm to bedtime, God was so full of surprises to prepare us for our big day on Friday.  We started by opening our mail on Thursday, which was full of such generous gifts from so many generous and gracious hearts out there!  God continues to love on us in amazing ways by softening so many hearts around us!  THANK YOU to so many - you know who you are : )  Then we skyped with our dear friends in Morocco, ending the call with a prayer together.  Then a family in our church whom Jas had never even met before, and I had only met the wife once before, swung by and brought a Christmas gift for Taylor and a knock your socks off gift for Jas & I.  You see, we had continued to be in constant prayer over whether or not Jas should have the surgery and for God's clarity.  And when we opened the family's card to us, HOLY COW did God make it clear.  Reminder, we would not know until the next morning whether or not surgery was an option for sure.  However, God softened the hearts of this family and because they were obedient to Him, they allowed God to clearly answer our prayer request through them.  You see, not only was the gift an incredibly generous financial gift, it was also a unique amount that no one else had ever gifted to us (and we've had a lot of generous givers out there - THANKS to each an every one of you!).  So unique in fact that the amount of money that they decided upon ended up being the amount needed to cover what we will have to co-pay for Jason's surgery.  When I saw the number I instantly knew - this was straight from God answering so clearly!  Talk about knocking your socks off!  I had done research about a month ago, knowing that the surgery that Jas may have the opportunity to go through would require him to be in the hospital a minimum of 2 weeks.  So that number of what we would need to pay out of pocket was still fresh in my mind.  God once again BLEW US AWAY with how he answered us so clearly and in such a tenderhearted way - completely providing for our financial needs also. WOW WOW WOW!  So cool to get to experience his blessings in this way!

So, the night continues : )  Told you he kept us busy until bedtime!  As Jas and I are in tears, hugging each other after opening the gift mentioned above, our doorbell rings.  On the front lawn stands my MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group that I had the pleasure of being part of these past 2 years, singing a number of Christmas carols to us with their families.  AMAZING!  So incredibly touching that God arranged them to pull together in this way the night when we needed it the most and so good to see them all - as it's been awhile that we've been out of our "typical routine of life."  And, to top that off, they had been reaching out to us in a variety of ways all week, ending on Christmas Eve with an amazingly generous gift to help out as well.  GOD IS SO GOOD!  Once again, we are in absolute AWE! 

After hugging them and heading back into the house, we had our last visitors arrive.  Bless their hearts they showed up with bags full of groceries from an organic market with an awesome variety foods on the alkaline side that they knew we were now eating, along with an extra generous gift.  WOW WOW WOW!   Blown away yet again!  After saying our goodbyes and then getting Taylor to bed, I ended my night with a call to my dear friend Kat.  She had an incredibly powerful story to share with me about how God had provided an amazing gift to her in a way that she knew only he could have done for her.  It was so cool to recap our day with her to reaffirm how God had provided for both of us in ways that we had never expected him to.  So very cool!  Needless to say, a lot of tears were shed this week!

Then Friday morning comes.  We arrive at the hospital and Jas was scheduled to have a pulmonary and vascular test first and then we were to meet with our clinic team at 11am to have the results of the PET read.  So after checking in first thing in the morning, they take us back to a room and in walks our thoracic surgeon.  Oh my!  Not good!  Jas and I didn't even look at each other at that point bc we both thought to ourselves "Uh Oh, this can't be good news!"  We were both independently thinking, Dr. Burrows came in first to tell us the bad news and that surgery must not be an option now, or he would have stuck to the schedule of coming in at 11am.  Thank goodness our gut reactions were wrong!  Dr. Burrows shared the PET and scope results and I'll be honest, Jas and I just kept waiting for something to be said about surgery not being an option, but it never happened PRAISE GOD!  So, we talked with Dr. Burrows about 2 hours discussing the surgery and all the questions that we had for him.  Bless his heart he is a very patient man and thank goodness, as this is a HUGE surgery that Jas will be undergoing and you want to be as educated as you can going into it!  So, we finished our day at the hospital with multiple tests that needed to be completed before surgery and set the surgery date for Monday, January 9th.

As for surgery, we truly think God was intentional with keeping the information on the lymph nodes unknown so it would be easier (although still a very big decision) to decide to do the surgery.   Also, how He provided for us financially through other believers with a very specific amount that covers the surgery - pretty clear!  We continue to pray for peace on this decision to move forward with surgery!  The surgery will be an 8 to 10 hour procedure on January 9th and Jason will be in the hospital for 2 weeks minimum.  Yes, this is a major surgery - comparable to an open heart surgery.  It will be a tough first half of the year for us next year, but we continue to look at this as Short Term Pain for the Long Term Gain.  And, we know without a doubt that God will be with us every step of the way and provide for every single need that we have - as he has already through these 2 cancer trials this year.  We truly do feel that surgery is Jas' best chance for a esophageal cancer free future! 

I'll be honest, since the news on Friday it's been a HUGE CELEBRATION!  What joy we've had making phone calls, telling people in person and typing up this blog to share our wonderful wonderful news and how God has answered so many of our prayers!  Many tears of joy and thanksgiving have been shed this week!  To be able to be with our Church Family Saturday evening for our Christmas Eve Service - it was heavenly to be with so many that have just bathed us in God's love!  And, we are so excited that we still are able to travel back to Ohio to see our friends and family there to celebrate together our news before surgery.

I'll tell you one thing, this will be a Christmas that we will NEVER EVER forget and I can't even begin to imagine God topping this Christmas in the future!  What a perfect Christmas gift God has given us this year!

PS...for you readers who get updates to the blog via email, make sure you visit the actual blog (wilestrials.blogspot.com) this week to check out our new pics on the website. We took family photos during our vacation this Oct at the beach, a week before Jason's treatment started.  Have we told you about how God's timing has been so perfect through all this? haha

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to each and every one of you!
We can't THANK YOU enough for your prayers, love, support, encouragement, etc! 
We hope we have the opportunity to serve back to each of you in the way you have for us!

With Much Love and In His Healing Name, 

Meg

12/19/11 - Believe Big

Well, it's been a few weeks, but things continue to improve daily.  Each day is better than the last and I continue to build back my strength after they beat me down with the chemo and radiation.  I still feel blessed that my side effects weren't as bad as they could have been. So right now I am trying to get as much strength rebuilt as I can, knowing that there is a possibility of them knocking me down again with starting soon.

I feel like I am acting more like myself again, which is such a huge answered prayer.  I know this because I am starting to have trouble sitting still for long and feel I need to constantly be working on something.  For those who have been on chemo or seen the side effects, its crazy how that junk will just straight up mess you up. It has definitely made me think hard about how I might proceed with additional chemo in the future if presented with a recommendation/option to undergo more infusion. So thankfully Christmas is right around the corner and Megs has plenty of small projects to keep my mind focused and busy and feel as though I am accomplishing something each day as I continues to build strength back. Additionally, my "quirkiness" with food is getting so much better these days also.  There are only a handful of foods that are still really tough for me to think about eating - based on what I ate that first chemo day.  Though I seem to be at a stable weight right now (almost 30lbs less than when this all started) my appetite is back but I can't eat as much as much as I used to, which is not a bad thing. We continue to get more comfortable daily with the new diet, and our bodies have definitely gotten used to it, so much so that we pulled out a pre-made meal out of the freezer the other night, one that Megs had made long before this all started, and WOW, what it did to us. It's not like it was bad, cause we wouldn't have attempted to eat it in the first place, but with the dairy, salt and other ingredients we have weaned ourselves off of, it just tore us up that night. We both just sat there and felt like crap for the rest of the evening. The crazy thing is, the next day I was craving a big pile of veggies. Definitely hasn't taken our body's long to adjust and I know that has been a big part of the healing process.

Taylor continues to adjust to having daddy around more now and has stopped the mean comments that she was throwing out at me the first month or two.  She has also adjusted to some of the new food concoctions we throw at her. I say some, because she see us eating something like a "green smoothie" or salad dressing we made and will want some, but you can tell a two year olds palette just isn't quite what ours is by the faces she makes, hysterical. But she's been a trooper through all this and prays daily for God to fight those boo-boos in daddy's body!

So as we continue to wait patiently and lean on God for peace until we hear results this Friday, December 23.  Whatever the outcome next week, we are looking forward to celebrating Christmas here in Maryland and then heading to Ohio to enjoy some time surrounded by family and friends.

Since there isn't much more to report today, other than to ask for your continued prayers (see the end of this post for a specific prayer request for this week), I thought this might be a good opportunity to share a great organization geared at taking the fear out of a cancer diagnosis - Believe Big. It's a great resource for those who have been just diagnosed or for someone who wants to help someone out and allows you to control cancer and not let cancer control you.  www.believebig.org  I know a lot of people have passed our blog out to others, especially those going through cancer, and we feel this organization is another great resource to help in their journeys.

The Cancer Compadres: Kat, Jas & Terri

Knowing how much one cancer has changed our focus on life, the second cancer allowed us to refine it that much more.  Megan and I had been searching for a organization that aligned with our passion and beliefs and one that we could get involved and put or energy behind, and we found all that in BelieveBig.  We highly recommend that you visit their webpage and pass this out to anyone going through or who has gone through cancer.  I feel with all the research I have done, you can access a lot of great information quickly and easily.

Jimmy & Ivelisse - Founders of BelieveBig

We had heard of BelieveBig, through our friend and partner in cancer Kat who has been friends with the organization founders long before anyone was diagnosed with cancer.  Its amazing how God's plan works out at times.  Over a month ago we attended BelieveBig's kickoff party and first ever fundraiser.  What an honor and how exciting to be part of this organization.  We included a couple photos from that special night.  We have also posted a permanent link on our blog in the resource area as a quick access point if anyone would like to refer to it in the future.

From Left to Right: Dan (Kat's friend), Kat, Dr. Hinderberger (Jas & Kat's Natropath), Jas & Meg

Additionally, we'll make sure we let you all know what we hear this week and we continue to thank you all for your prayers, encouragement and support!

For this week, we would like to ask for your help in praying the specific prayer below for Meg & I called the No Fear Prayer, a resource via Believe Big.  We have a big week ahead of us and feel that this will help tremendously!  Thank you!

JASON & MEGAN WILL HAVE NO FEAR PRAYER

Jason & Megan will be strong and courageous. They will not be terrified; they will not be discouraged. For you, my Lord, are with them wherever they go. (Joshua 1:9)  No one will be able to stand up against them all the days of their life. As you were with Moses – and Joshua – I know you are with them. You will never fail Jason & Megan and you will never leave them. Never. (Joshua 1:5) They will meditate on your Word and will follow you alone. (Joshua 1:8)

You have chosen Jason and have not rejected him. So he will not fear for you are with him. Jason and Megan will not be dismayed, for you are their God. You will strengthen Jason and Megan and help them; you will uphold them with your righteous right hand….For you are the Lord, my God, who takes hold of their right hand and says “Do not be afraid; I will help you.” (Isaiah 41:9-13)

We praise you because Jason is fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14) For you created Jason and formed him.  Jason and Megan will not be afraid for you have redeemed Jason. You have called Jason by name and he is yours. When Jason passes through the waters, you will be with him; and when Jason passes through the rivers, they will not sweep over him. When Jason walks through the fire, he will not be burned; the flames will not set him ablaze. For you are the Lord their God, the Holy One of Israel, their Savior. (Isaiah 43:1-3)

Jason and Megan will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day. (Psalm 91:5) And even though Jason walks through the valley of the shadow of death, he will fear no evil, for you are with him. Your rod and your staff, they comfort Jason and Megan. (Psalm 23:4) For God did not give Jason and Megan a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7) And Jason and Megan are more than a conqueror through him who loved them. For Jason and Megan are convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate them from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus their Lord. (Romans 8:36-39)


God Bless & With Much Love,
Jas & Meg

12/3/11 - When God Calls Us Out of Our Comfort Zone - Meg's Testimony

Hi Everyone - This one is from Meg : ) I know I've mentioned a couple times that I would send out more details on our Church's Women's Retreat that I spoke at with our "cancer com-padres" (smile) Kat & Terri back on November 5th, 2011. I'll be honest, this is going to be a long one as it involves my testimony and also includes some videos that were shared at the conference. Also, I have to thank Jas for continuing to nudge me along this past month to follow through on doing this, as it's been quite a humbling experience!

Let me start back a couple months ago. Jas and I were at church and they were reminding our congregation of the upcoming Women's Retreat. Jas nudged me in the side and asked if I was planning on going. I'll be honest, at that point having known that Jas would be in mid treatment for esophageal cancer, that was the last thing I wanted to do was to leave him and Taylor yet another time and have another weekend of trying to find coverage for both while I would be gone. So I shook my head and told him the timing just wasn't right this year. However, God had another plan : ) After church was dismissed I was in the lobby talking to my dear friend Kat (stage 4 lung cancer) and we were approached by a lady in our church who was an integral part of planning for the Women's Retreat. Low and behold she asked us to speak at the retreat. OH MY! I have to say my first reaction to having to go up on stage is always PLEASE NO, UGGGHHH! But God had prepared me through my HR Career over the past 10 years to having to get over that initial reaction to then muster up the courage to do it! So, Kat immediately responded, "YES! Anyway I can be used by God - I'm in." I then smiled nervously and agreed to help as well. Wheew, God so often calls us to do things out of our comfort zone and our areas of strength so that we rely on him with everything we have and so the glory can ONLY be given to HIM in the end!

So picture this... we had around 125 women at our Women's Retreat. We were the 3 musketeers, in this thing together, my friends Kat, Terri & I. What a special memory that I will hold dear to my heart to experience something like this with 2 other women that we have grown so close to through this cancer journey.

During our segment, we opened by showing videos of each of our stories separately, bringing the audience up to speed on our trials we were currently enduring. The good news is, I have these videos to share with you and are directly below! For those of you who are reading this via an automatic email, you'll need to visit our blog directly to view the videos at wilestrials.blogspot.com. Just be prepared as they are tear jerkers! One thing I will prepare you for is that they asked each of us the prognosis question. While all 3 of us jumped out of our chairs with an emphatic NO initially, when they first told us what they'd be taping and asking this question at the end, they did further clarify why it was necessary. They didn't feel that the attendees at the conference would truly understand how God has provided for us in so many AMAZING ways, unless they knew how serious the prognosis of all 3 cancers truly were.  So, here they are!

So after the videos ended, the 3 of us went on stage and spoke about the areas that we felt God wanted us to focus on. The sad news is that the video camera they had set up to tape this part with died as soon as we started talking : ( So we don't have that portion to share with you all. I guess God wanted that part to be an intimate experience for those at the Women's Retreat. However, I did want to share with you my testimony and what I spoke about that day.

Before I do, I must share one more bit of detail. I always felt like my "Testimony" was a bit of a bore to be honest. I've been a Christian the majority of my life and hadn't had any trials remotely close to the ones this year. However, I just want to thank my cousin Mark for reminding me that God is and continues to build my testimony right here and right now through Jason's 2 cancer trials this year! That gentle reminder made me smile, knowing that was God speaking to me through him! 

Here's what I covered at the Retreat:  

Question: How has God prepared me for what I’m currently going through today, which I view as the largest trial I’ve faced in my life so far?

 Answer: 

It’s been such a blessing in preparing for the retreat, to look back and revisit all of the ways God has prepared me for what I’m going through today.

He has helped me…

• Learn about cancer through others
• Learn how to glorify Him through cancer, through others
• Get my priorities straight.  By that I mean getting God to move up to #1 rank my life, not #2 or #3 and he helped me do this through events/circumstances he exposed me to.

First of all, God knows that my natural preference in learning is to watch and learn through others first before experiencing/doing myself. Having been the 2nd born of my family, my older sister would laugh and completely agree.  God provided me the opportunity to learn more about cancer and how to glorify Him through others that he placed in our lives, prior to Jason being diagnosed with cancer.

Also, God knew my heart and that he was not ranked #1 in my life until the last handful of years. So God exposed me to circumstances that ultimately let him move up in rank - from #3 to #1 in my life. By doing this he equipped me to be best prepared for our current battle with cancer. Let me rewind back 7 years.  

Jason’s Dad – Our first family battle with cancer began over 7 years ago when Jason’s dad was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer. We learned a lot about cancer and treatment options through this experience, yet experienced much heartbreak as a result of his father’s passing. Over the past handful of years I have recognized that I wasn’t fully healed yet from that event and only viewed cancer as having a devastating ending.

The Move/God's Rank In My Life - Shortly after Jason’s father passed away, we felt called by God to move to Maryland and to be honest, we had no idea why. Jas is a geologist, so we always thought if we ever moved it would be out west. Plus almost all of our family was in Ohio. But after 4+ years of job searching with dead ends, Jason had a job opportunity of a lifetime pop up in the DC area with doors wide open. It was bittersweet for us as it required us to move away from our loved ones, however we knew that when God calls and we follow – he will PROVIDE!  Looking back now, I see that God had my heart as top priority.  I had been relying so heavily on Jason & our family in Ohio that I wasn’t allowing God to be my #1, but was placing him 2nd or even sometimes 3rd in priority. I gave so many things priority over God over the past many years ranging from my husband/family, career and financial security.

So, we made the move to Frederick. We didn’t know a soul. So of course I clung even closer to the one person I did know – my husband. Through this move I continued to let Jason be my “#1 Rock”, my career #2 and God my #3. So what happened next? God already took us away from family, and now he allowed Jason’s work to take him away from me for months at a time. Wheew! That really brought me to my knees!  So I threw myself into my career, the one thing that was still around that continued to be ranked above God.  After realizing that regardless of how hard I worked or how successful I was in my career, I still would be "off in my ranking" until God became my #1.  Finally I turned to God giving him the time and attention he was wanting from me and deserved, allowing him to truly become #1 in my life.

People God Brought Into My Life:

• Terri - God placed Terri in my life next, for me to have my first exposure to someone living through a cancer trial, while continuing to glorify God.  God allowed me to learn from a distance with Terri.  While I didn’t know Terri very well when I first learned of her diagnosis, I have enjoyed learning more about her through her “cruise updates” and then truly being able to help each other as friends as we are currently running the cancer battle together now. She taught us the importance of communicating and sharing updates with others in an honest and genuine way while continuing on with a positive attitude.  She has been an awesome support and I truly have cherished our friendship through all this! Terri has helped the laughter continue for us through this trial, provided such insightful points of views while allowing me to be real with her about my thoughts/emotions. So with Terri, I learned through her by watching from a distance initially, but more intimately today! What a blessing!! 

• Kat – Now with Kat, God smacked me right in the front line in her battle w/ cancer. We were friends prior to either of our families having cancer, however God was so intentional with how involved he intended for us to be with the Hargest family when she was diagnosed with lung cancer. I had the honor of being able to help with her children the day/week of her diagnosis and be there for her family. Kat challenged me, as a sister in Christ, that continued to teach me how God can use you through cancer.  She started the trend of writing scripture on her tumor to witness to others.  She helped us put into action how to guard our minds and hearts with scripture – wallpapering our homes with it! So helpful and important!! She taught me to instantly give credit to God, when people try to give you the credit for being strong, brave, inspiring, etc. Also, God had sent both families to the same exact orthopedic oncologist at Sinai so we could tag team the office together in our goal to share God with others. And most recently to Kat helped us get in with her Natropath who wasn’t accepting new patients. We even had the privilege of experiencing a miracle of Kat’s with the Dr. Office & Kat . So exciting!  What an inspiration she is and an amazing friend!

May 2011 - Sarcoma - Jason's 1st Cancer - So back to Jason’s dad. God knew that the word cancer was still raw enough to us, having experienced a devastating outcome with Jason’s dad, that we still weren’t exactly where he needed us to be to glorify him through it the way that he wanted to. So he allowed us to go through a smaller “trial run” with cancer this past May – Jason’s sarcoma . At the time, it was very scary hearing the word cancer, however looking back – it was a much easier prognosis compared to what we are dealing with now. The Dr. had shared that he would more than likely live a long life with all his limbs. I remember having a conversation with Terri at that time and her looking at me and saying, “It’s going to be ok! I wish I had that prognosis!”

Job Loss - Also, during the course of Jas’ treatment, my part time job that I’d been working for 2+ years was eliminated. This was bittersweet at the time, as this was one small piece that I still had in my life that was for me.  However, it was such a HUGE blessing, as it allowed me to be eligible for unemployment to help us financially, while focusing all of my time on Jason and our family. An answered prayer request after 2 years of praying – God took the decision out of my hands and made it for me!  That is itself was such a tenderhearted gesture for me not to have to make the decision come September with the next round of cancer.

September 2011 - Esophageal Cancer - Jason's 2nd Cancer - Pretty much immediately after Jason’s surgery he began to have symptoms of heart burn and food getting caught in the middle of his chest when swallowing. So this is where we circle back to Jason’s dad yet again. He had the same symptoms, and bc they were all too familiar to us, we had them looked into very quickly. Most people wouldn’t think much about those symptoms other than take a handful of tums. Because we had already experienced esophageal cancer and the symptoms through Jas’ dad, we were able to catch it a stage earlier than his dad's.

I cannot say enough about how tenderhearted and loving God is! He helped prepare me in so many ways, so I could be exactly where I needed to be when we heard the scariest news of our lives! I know that if God hadn’t become #1 in my life, I would not have had the strength to be the wife to Jason that I needed to be for him and the mom to our 2.5 year old daughter. Phil 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!


And, let me loop back to our question of Why Maryland God? ...when we were called to move here almost 6 years ago.  It's so very clear now.  Jas has been in a job that he absolutely loves, we are in a state that has 2 of the top 6 treatment centers for esophageal cancer only 1 hour away, as well being 1 hour away from an amazing hospital that specializes in Sarcoma cancers that services the whole Northeast.  And, I don't know if I ever would have let God move up to #1 without making the move in all honesty.

Question: Who Does God Say I Am?  
Answer: God says I am weak, but through him I am strong!  “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  2 Cor. 12:10

Question: Who Do I Say God Is? 
Answer:
My view of God have not waivered one bit through this, other than to fall even more in love with him!

1. MY ROCK, My #1 – Psalm 18:2 The LORD is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; He is the only one that will be with me 100% of the time and can fulfill 100% of my needs. No human can do that. With God as my #1, he allows me to love and serve my husband, family and others the way that he calls me to. I’m clinging to the rock! I'm just so thankful that God helped me get my priorities straight finally or I would have experienced complete devastation.

2. TRUTH – Psalm 119:160 “All God’s words are TRUE,” is a bible verse that my 2.5 yr daughter was taught in her bible school program this fall. I always knew that his words were true, but never in my life have I experienced so many of his promises/truths being fulfilled in such a condensed time frame. To have God’s word to rely on as the ONLY truth and to see his truths in action has been MIND BLOWING!  We continue to be blown away daily by how God is ful-filling his promises to us! It has been such an AWESOME thing to experience it!

3. LOVE & PROVIDER - Our family, friends & people we’ve never met before in our lives have loved on us in a way that you could never even imagine was possible! We are so thankful and in absolute awe, as we know that God is loving us through those here on earth! It just brings us to tears as we think about the outpouring of love we have experienced through our 2 cancer trials.

• Help with watching our daughter with so many appointments
• Financial support (checks and gift cards being sent – some even for the same amount of the bill that comes in the mail that day) 
• Gifts (varying with such creativity and an answer to such specific prayer requests that only God knew about ) 
• Encouragement: emails, texts, blog posts, cards with encouraging scriptures 
• PRAYER! 
• We have been blessed in so many ways, that each chemo day (and we've been through 3 of 6) Jas has spent the majority of his time writing thank you cards. That's at least 6 hours each treatment! Talk about keeping u positive! God is so good! 
• Vacation - God also perfectly timed for us to be on vacation both times of diagnosis, the week before Jason’s treatments began. These were planned well before we ever even knew of Jason having either cancer. Our jaws are dropping daily as God answers our prayers in ways we never even imagined through softening the hearts of those around us. We could talk for a full day about all the ways we have been blessed! 
• God loves us so very much and we’ve been able to gain an even better understanding of just how much by his incredibly personalized approach to preparing us for this trial of esophageal cancer.

4. HOPE- "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit" (ROM 15:13). He gives us Hope when the world is telling us otherwise. These trials that we are experiencing are ALL part of his perfect plan. We just need to trust him that his way is the BEST!!! He has given us such a renewed sense of hope by bringing 2 young men into our lives who have had esophageal cancer, are alive today, and treated by the same team. Looking back to Jason’s father, not 1 single person did we know of who was an esophageal cancer survivor. We continue to hear of more and more people who are esophageal cancer survivors PRAISE GOD!

5. PEACE – Phil 4:7 – And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Jas and I have been blanketed with peace during the scariest time of our lives! Only God, can provide peace in a time like this.  Honestly, I never thought in a million years that anyone could say that they are at peace in a time like this, but God has blessed us tremendously in this area!

6. JOY – Only God/The Holy Spirit can provides us with joy during a time like this. We have been able to experience pure joy during this trial as we learn of others being drawn to Christ through us, allowing God to use us through this!

God is the PERFECT PLANNER and this trial today is all part of HIS perfect plan!

SUMMARY VERSE - Romans 8:28 - And we know that in ALL things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

As we ended our time with the ladies, the 3 of us read the excerpt from A Bend in the Road by David Jeremiah.

My child, I have a message for you today, let Me whisper it in your ear, that it may coat with glory any storm clouds which may arise, and smooth the rough places upon which you may have to tread. It is short--only five words--but let them sink into your inmost soul, use them as a pillow upon which to rest your weary head.
THIS THING IS FROM ME

Thanks for taking the time to read through my testimony, and I pray that God softens your heart in some way through this. And please feel free to share our blog with others to continue to spread the Word and share in our prayer requests!

With Much Love In His Healing Name,

Meg

11/23/11 - Graduation Day - WooHoo!

Well, it was as an eventful day.  So the whole family got up early with me and off to the hospital for the last time for a few weeks.  First off the bat, we had scheduled a second meeting with the thoracic surgeon at the Univ. Maryland to discuss our second opinion at Johns Hopkins.  The surgery option has been a large cloud just hanging over us for the last month knowing that this was going to be the biggest decision we were going to have to make.  Since Saturday and our meeting with Hopkins, Megs and I had really felt like we were in a fog about the second opinion, surgical options and what was going to be best.  And as I indicated in the last bolg, we were praying and asking for extreme clarity.  So as Megs and I walked out of the meeting, there was no doubt that God had provided us the very clear answers we were looking for and the Holy Spirit continues to blanket us with a peace about the decisions we are making. 

So without boring you with a bunch of details on the specifics of the surgery, I will say that our surgeon at UM was more than a little surprised that Johns Hopkins presented the option for doing surgery laproscopically.  He stepped through with us why that would not be a good option and clearly articulated what would give me the best chance for success post operation.  Not only did he provide reasons for not doing the surgery laproscopically, but backed that with research and examples that clearly explained and described what they would do to provide me the best chance to beat this cancer.  This matched with all the research I have conducted on my own and clearly showed to us, there is more to this than just a little quicker healing associated with doing it laproscopically.  On top of all that, we again were reconfirmed that UM provides a lot of the untangibiles.  Everything from the surgeon postponing his holiday travel plans to accommodate and meet with us, to the way we have felt like they are treating me like they would be treating their own family member. 

So now, the waiting game...We'll have to wait till the week before Christmas (12/19 to 12/23) to get the PET and scope done to restage the cancer and determine our next steps.  So after those test results come back, our options based on results will be 1) There was no cancer detected in the esoph. or lymph nodes and we will have the choice to do or not do surgery 2) There was metastatic activity, but has not spread beyond the initial staging. and surgery will still be an option, with post chemo 3) There was distant metastatic activity identified, surgery will not be an option. and chemo would be the proposed plan of action.  So we will continue to pray for complete healing and see what God has planned for us as we near Christmas.

Next on the slot for the day, Graduation.  So after another 25 days and over 2500 miles, my short term relationship with the radiation machine has come to a end.  I thought it felt surreal during the last cancer to be finished, but it was so much sweeter this time around.  So I grabbed a few pics to share what this included on a daily basis.

One of the machines that revolved around me 360 degrees to provide treatment

The machine as it gets ready to begin.  The top section, which is now the 3 o'clock position shows the treatment aperture.  In all, my treatment was done at 6 different angles to focus the most radiation on the esophagus and lymph nodes while decreasing as much collateral damage as possible.  I had one of the best Dr and radiation teams in the country to make this happen. What a phenomenal group of individuals!

So part of the UM's tradition on the patient's last day of radiation treatment, is to ring the honorary bell to celebrate the end of treatment and give hope to others that are still going through it (you'll see the plaque at the end of the video and where the bell normally hangs).  The funny thing is, the bell had just broke at the end of last week and they hadn't gotten it fixed.... So we had do a little compromising and came prepared with our own replacement bell that had just been unpacked this week as we decorated for Christmas.  We also made sure we built up the anticipation for Taylor, and she ham'd it up!  Enjoy the video and make sure your volume is turned up to hear the bell ringing.

Here are some additional pics as Taylor rang the bell for Daddy.

Again, feels great to be done with this phase and head into the locker room and prepare for the second half.  I definitely have a lot to be thankful for this year as we celebrate Thanksgiving!

Trust In Him
God Bless!
Jason

11/22/11 - Almost Halftime - Time to Regroup and Refocus

Well, sorry I haven't posted in a couple of weeks.  I have been in a partial fog and for the most part trying to conserve energy during the day.  I have felt good enough to drive my self into my early morning radiation, but then have to come home and take a couple naps some days.  When I am awake, I'm doing research on surgical options.  Man these last two weeks have really flown by.  It's almost hard to imagine that this Wednesday is my last radiation treatment, hopefully this time forever.  By God's grace I continue to do better than most going through the same treatment, though I am half their age, the Dr's keep telling me to keep doing whatever I am doing as it seems to be working.  I have been spared major esophagitis problems, however the irritation is starting to increase daily and other side effects continue to pop up and build on top of each other.  Still understanding that the peak dose of radiation will hit tomorrow and will continue to work, we'll see what happens over the next few weeks.  I continue to feel blessed and thank God for allowing me to suffer well thus far.

So the next major decision that looms in our decision making process that we will need a lot of clarity on, via prayer and guidance from God and any personal experience from you all, is the decision of what surgeon and surgical option we will go with IF we get good results back from the PET scan in a few weeks.  So we met with the Chief of Thoracic Surgery at Johns Hopkins on Saturday, who has come highly recommended to us.  Just like the last cancer, we felt really competent in our first opinion, but with so many fine institutions at arms reach, we also felt that it was our due diligence to get a second opinion.  So this time around, things aren't as cut and dry in the decision making, and we have been presented with the option to have the esophagectomy done laproscopically.  Based on their recommendation, they only select certain patients to undergo this procedure and I fit their profile, younger and healthier than most.  This is a relatively newer procedure being done for esophagectomies and not a main procedure at Hopkins.  The positives are obviously a quicker recovery time with shorter hospital stay and overall recovery, smaller incisions to heal and as they presented a some what noticeably better success/survival rate.  The down sides are they have only done a "handful" of these procedures, as they still do mostly traditional esophagectomies.  The other question is does it really increase survival or are the stats skewed based on their selection process.  This is a huge prayer request that we really need some quick and clear guidance on as we need to make a decision sooner vs later to get the post staging PET scan and surgery scheduled in.  We are going to meet again w/ the thoracic surgeon at University of Maryland tomorrow to get their counter opinion to what we have heard from Hopkins.  So we'll add this to our prayer requests and also ask if you by chance know of any one who has had a laproscopic esophagectomy to please let us know.  In addition, there is a Dr. at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center who has done probably the most of these, so if any of our Ohio connections know of someone who had a esophagectomy done at UPMC, we would be especially interested.


I know I provided  a lot of information on nutritional choices in my last post and really wanted to follow up with some of what we found in our research and have begun to apply.  In our research, we've found diets to be all over the board in promoting disease free health.  We became overwhelmed trying to determine what is God's purpose for us with food.  If this has triggered something in you or your family to reconsider nutrition, I fully suggest you do your own research so you can come to your own conclusions on what best for you, as I am no expert.  But here is where have we landed as a family.  First to start by eating healthier.  We have removed all processed foods from our cabinets, trying to shop just the perimeter of the grocery or shop your local farmers market (fresh and then frozen if needed, as well locally grown, sustainable and organic fruits and veggies when available).  Then we have swapped our portion sizes and meal focus from protein to those of vegetables (we don't need as much protein as we intake).  Finally, we have removed all sugar from our diet (only using natural sweetners like agave, great glycemic value as well, so it won't spike your blood sugar like other sweetners or sugars).  The sugar removal has more to do with the cancer fighting, though a lot can be said for removing as much refined sugars from our diet and only using natural unrefined sugars when needed, for everything from weight control, to diabetes, to disease prevention.  I know for Megan, this simple change has really removed her desire for more sweets and I know with how energetic Taylor is, it can't hurt :).  The last thing we are really trying to remove, is salt and things that are known to cause inflammation, as disease tends thrive in this type of environment and for me this is as important in fighting now as to preventing recurrence later.  It has really amazed us though this whole process how much by just making some of these simple changes, we really do feel better and I know I don't have any gastric problems as I had before (definitely won't go any further on that).  So without boring you any further, if you want to chat food and other things that I have come across, don't hesitate to hit me up and I can provide some more context and point you in the direction of additional resources.  As I referred to 1 Corinthians 6:13-20 in my previous post, our dear friend Melinda who Megan blogged about quickly and wisely points out that in 1 Cor 6:12 (NIV) "Everything is permissible for me"--but not everything is beneficial."  I think that is sage advice to live by, especially when we look at what we eat daily.

Here's what a purge from our cabinets looked like.  And this is only about half of what we got rid of!

More to follow shortly to share with you how my last day of treatment goes, as well as additional information that I find out on the surgery end of things.

Trust in Him!
God Bless,
Jason

11/14/11 - Attending a Marathon... In So Many Ways

Hi Everyone - I don't know about you all, but I've really enjoyed having Jas blog the last couple of times to hear more of what's on his heart!  Love it!  That's what we love about this blog, you get to hear what is on both of our hearts, which will hopefully reach out and touch a wide variety of people who are undergoing trials of various natures.  

As we sit here today on chemo treatment #5 of #6 total (PRAISE GOD we only have one more Chemo Day!), I have the rare opportunity to spend time doing things that typically are so hard to do with a little one around.  So, I wanted to bring you up to speed on a couple events that we haven't had the chance to post on yet.  Know that Jas will more than likely be getting a post up within the next couple days also, since he rarely sleeps on Monday nights - due to the steroids they give him.  So stay tuned for an update on how he is doing and this past week.

Melinda's Shirt

On Sunday, October 30th, Melinda, our dear Sister in Christ, ran the Marine Corps Marathon in DC.  Bless her heart!  It was the first marathon she has ever ran, and she was doing it in honor and support of Jason, Kat & Terri (also dear sisters in Christ), Jason's Dad - Ernie, and many other loved ones affected by cancer.  She ran under the Lazarex Cancer Foundation and wore a blue shirt that listed the names of the people she was running for along with scripture that we have all been relying so heavily on:  Philippians 4:13 - I can do ALL things through CHRIST who gives me strength.

Kat (left), Melinda (middle), Meg (right)

So, Kat (stage 4 lung cancer who you've also been praying for) and I went into DC for the day to cheer on Melinda and join her family as she crossed the finish line!  What a fun and emotional day it was for us!  We were laughing thinking about how crazy it would have been if both of our families would have come.  We were glad we opted to make it a Girl's Day.  Kat has 3 little kiddos - ages 5, almost 4, and 2.  And our Taylor (2.5 yrs), Miss Independent, need I say more?  In a crowd of approx 100,000 spectators and 30,000 runners, a stroller just didn't sound like fun to maneuver around!  
 


To the left you will see Melinda crossing the 26 mile marker of the 26.2 mile race waving to us with a smile on her face.  I'm sure glad she found us in the crowd or we would have missed her with all the commotion!  What a trooper!  After the race, she showed us the scriptures that she had written on her legs to help her get her to the finish line. 

 
A little history here for those who may not be aware.  Initially, when Kat first headed to the Cancer Institute, she wrote Philippians 4:13 on her tumor that was giving her problems on her femur.  At this time she did not yet know she had cancer.  Since then, Jas continued the trend with writing Phil 4:13 on his tumor (Sarcoma) on his leg.  Then, he found his own verse he wanted to claim through his cancer trials - Romans 8:28.  Doctors, along with many others in the offices, have asked Jas about what he wrote and what that actual scripture was.  So it has been an awesome way to witness to the Doctor teams, through both cancers this year!  I love how Melinda then took this idea and applied it to something else other than cancer.  She's been such an awesome example to us and many others of how to glorify God and witness to others when times are good!


All in all, it was a great day for Kat and I!  It was such a special day and we appreciated Melinda's sacrifice and her willingness to run this race for those near and dear to her heart with cancer.  It was amazing the conversations that we were able to have with others in DC about God, cancer, nutrition, etc. without us even initiating them.  When we were on the metro headed home, another young woman commented on our bracelets we were both wearing that have Phil 4:13 written out on them.  (Thanks Jill Kinn - We Love Them!)  Kat took hers off and gave the bracelet to her.  It made this lady's day and she was just glowing as she said it was one of her favorite verses and had never seen one like it.  Then there was another couple that rode with us on the bus to get to the metro.  They had experienced cancer in their family, were going through similar steps nutritionally, etc.  In both cases we were able to share our stories and how God was blessing both our families through this particular storm. Amazing and it brought us such great joy!

As for the Women's Retreat at our church, I sure do appreciate your prayers for all the women involved in the panel discussion that I was part of.  More to follow on that soon!  Unfortunately, the video camera stopped recording as soon as our time on stage started, so I don't have that video to share with you all.  However, I plan to edit my notes that I used into a blog post so you can read my testimony and possibly see the introduction video that they used for our part of the day.  Stay tuned!

Well, today is going amazingly well so far!  Things are looking good and we are tracking to be home much, much sooner than last week!  Can I get a BIG PRAISE GOD?   He is so good!

We did also want to mention how grateful we are to those who are participating in the prayer/fasting chain.  We had no idea this was already in action but when we learned of it, it brought tears to our eyes to learn of the sacrifice that so many were willing to make for Jason and our family during the last 1.5 weeks of treatment!  We continue to be BLOWN AWAY with your love!

Thanks so much for your continued prayers!

Much Love & God Bless!

Meg

11/8/11 - Nutrition = Energy... Seems to be helping

Well my new normal for Monday nights have become waking up wired at 1 AM.  If anyone has gone through chemo infusions or known someone who has, they give me a dose of steroids (and it's half the amount I got in the beginning) to counteract any side effects of the lovely hazardous materials they pump in me. So I feel like I should be busting down the weight room door and pumping some iron...hey I am legal so might as well benefit right?  Since I have given up weight lifting till treatment is over, you get a blog, because the next option is cleaning the house and the Holy Spirit just isn't moving in that direction. :)

So yesterday was the 4th round of chemo, with just two more to go.  I ended last week really feeling good. God continues to give me the daily strength to fight this and fend off they side effects, thus far. After radiation treatment last Thursday, I went and picked up my mom at the airport to have some extra hands around the house for the next couple weeks. What a blessing it has been, to have help with Taylor, cooking/cleaning, and just spending some catch up time with her.  It was great yesterday, as chemo/radiation took much longer than anticipated.  We had a 16 hr day by the time it was all said and done, but to know Taylor was just chillin' with her Gigi, really brought a peace as we sat and were "patient" at the hospital waiting to get everything done. Don't get me wrong, we have been totally blessed with all our friends and neighbors helping out watch her on the long days, but Megs and I joked yesterday that our traveling gypsy seemed to like knowing she could sleep in her own bed and manipulate Gigi into getting anything she wanted.  She continuously kept hugging and kissing Gigi over and over again, knowing that things were going to change for her.  God has definitely given us a little trooper and Taylor has really been great through this given she's 2.5 yrs old.  We are all adjusting with daddy being home all day.  Meg and I joke that it's the first time in our almost 10 years of marriage that we've spent this much time together, but it's been good!

I really had a good week last week, and by God's continued grace, I got out and ran a couple times on the nice days. Though I am not breaking my personal bests, it feels great to have the energy still and know I have the strength to keep fighting it with all the tools put before me. Even though my "counts" have steadily declined during chemo, I am still at a healthy enough level to allow for further treatment and to fight off infections. We expected the counts to drop because that is what the chemo is doing, effecting every cell good and bad. However we continue to pray that my body can regenerate the good cells faster than the chemo destroys and the counts stay up so I can finish off the treatments like a champ.  I have also started to notice a little irritation when I swallow, but nothing that has kept me from still eating.  At this point it just means I have to chew well and take smaller bites. They predict this to happen, as it's one of the major side effects of radiation on the esophagus.  As the radiation continues to build in dosage, my esophagus continues to be "sunburnt" daily. So we just have to take it day by day and ask for God's quick healing and protection.

Speaking of food, I know many of you have inquired about our dietary change, which is one therapy we feel God has clearly laid on hearts through this.  It started subtly, with the first cancer and our good friends at church who are battling cancer. The Holy Spirit was tapping us gently on the shoulder through them and their nutritional changes, but like any human and our desire control our own decision making, I never fully turned it over to God during that first round of cancer. Interestingly, during the first round of cancer, Meg was also tapped gently by the Holy Spirit regarding food.  She was led to fast all sweets for the month we waited to find out whether or not the tumor in my leg was cancerous.  Interesting how that was God's warm up period for her, knowing that we are avoiding all sugars now.  Though I personally felt like food was never an idol in my life, I did tend to "live to eat" vs. "eat to live."  At one point during the first round of cancer, we went and spoke to a hospital nutritionist and she gave the standard clinical answer.  Do what you can to keep your weight on, but there isn't anything you need to refrain from, either during treatment or for recurrence afterward.  I thought that was great, hey I can continue on like I was eating, no changes needed, and I am still in control.

Then after the the second diagnosis, God's gentle taps turned into smacks over the head.  It started when we went on vacation before treatment for round 2 of cancer.  I struck up conversation on the beach with a local, who was a little more "granola" than I was four weeks ago and talked a lot about diet.  I chuckle now, as some of you know how anti "granola" I was in the past, as I loved my meats and home-style cooking.  The thought of twigs and berries as a sustainable diet made me look down on those who embraced a healthier eating lifestyle.  I love how God allows us to eat crow more often than we like.

So the major smack over the head came when we hooked up with an esophageal cancer (EC) survivor, who was my age and lives just 20 minutes from us, the day before we were starting treatment. Not only did God use him to speak to us about nutrition, he also was treated by the same oncology team at Univ of MD.  We had started doing some research while on vacation and as the Internet goes, there can be as much disinformation as information out there.  We really struggled to understand what God's desire was for us nutritionally.  All it takes is a quick minute of surfing the net to see all these individuals whose diet act as their "functional god."  They worship their food plans and allow it to consume them.  So once we met with this other Christian family who had just been through EC earlier this year, and they had made the same dietary changes we were leaning towards based on their own independent research, we walked out to the car and Megs and I looked at each other and were in shock at what had just happened.  God had clearly answered our prayers so clearly that we almost couldn't believe what took place. Additionally, God renewed our hope after spending the evening with this couple, showing us that not all Esophageal Cancers have a devastating ending.  This man was diagnosed with Stage 4 EC just this past January and by April he was cancer free. Go God!  What a miracle!  He just had a follow up scan and there was no metastatic activity = no cancer.  Also, this man gave me something really special during our first meeting.  It was so neat bc just earlier that day we had listened to our Pastor's sermon about the life of David.  Then this man hands me "The David Stone" and when you turn it over it says "No problem is too big for God to handle."  He shared that he kept this stone with him every single day of treatment as a constant reminder that God is bigger than cancer.  I am honored that he passed this stone on to me!  God was so intentional with connecting our families and we are so appreciative that he did!

There have been several others that we have spoke with, that once we turned the topic of "eating" over to God, he has put in path to let us see that food was an idol in our life an it had a much stronger grip than we ever thought.  So it gets crazier...one of our neighbors then hooked us up with another EC survivor, again someone in Frederick who was 26 when he was diagnosed. Come to find out, we kept hearing from the oncology team during our initial consultation about this 26yr miracle. Well, he is alive and well (now 31) and was treated by they same oncology team, and additionally he's gone through esophagectomy (surgery I'm considering).  Thank you God!   We have spoke and what another great resource to have so close.  Come to find out, diet has also been a big change for him!  Again, renewed hope as I meet and hear of more survivors!

Additionally, another Christian neighbor who we had no idea about her diet, is following the same protocol we are and has been for the last 20+ yrs.  She has been such a blessing, from making some great meals to really guiding us through the cooking part and showing how this can be easy and not have it consume you.   And I must also send a very BIG thanks out to those who are lovingly pulling together 5 weeks of "Alkaline" meals for us.  Now that's love, to be willing to cook a specific way for us to get us to the finish line of treatment!

The icing on the cake was to have an individual on the medical side who approached us about some research that had been done apart from what medical school had taught her.  God totally laid us on her heart to reach out to us, as she didn't even know that we were struggling with deciphering how to eat go forward.  Her first conversation with us about this was the day after we met with the couple that handed over The David Stone.  WOW!  We are so appreciative of the research she shared with us, hearing of her own testimony of how she came to know Christ and to learn that even Doctors struggle with understanding exactly how God calls us to honor Him by what we put into our bodies (temples).  She now is a reader of our blog and continues to send us encouraging emails, which we appreciate so much!
 
It really has neat to see how God has answered our prayer requests so clearly and has confirmed his desire for us through this. Let me be clear though, I in no way feel diet up to this point caused either one of my cancers, but I do truly believe that God is using my situation to speak to others about certain idols we have in our life. Will a nutrition change cure my cancer, no, but it is one of the tools God is using in my testimony to glorify Him. Just like anything else we are doing to rid my body of the cancer cells and keep them away until it's my time. Understanding all our days are numbered, and it's God's timing when He takes me home to be with Him. I stand firm in believing that He has much more planned for me in the here and now.

Meg and I have really been in prayer over and trying to decipher what food and diet mean to us and how do we glorify God through it. We have really been praying over 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." Understanding that the Apostle Paul wrote this in context of sexual immorality, he draws the parallel earlier in 1 Cor 6:13 with food. Knowing the quickest way to a man's heart is through food and sex, Paul contrasts the two to emphasize how God values the human body. So we feel that God is speaking to us about what we are doing to or putting in our bodies. Hope this helps others that are struggling through similar circumstances.

Well, not sure now if I should have cleaned the house. I gotta get up in less than an hour for my daily dose of radiation. Ww

Trust in Him
God Bless!
Jason

11/2/11 - Half Way Mark of Treatment

WOW, once again I am going to start this post with a big THANK YOU!!!!!  Thank You to all those identified and anonymous, for all the encouragement and support!  We are absolutely blown away with how you have been so generous in so many ways!  God continues to amaze us daily through each and every one of you and His timing has been more than we can even comprehend - perfect!  God has made it very clear that he hears each and every prayer request and has answered so many in ways we never even imagined as a solution! 

These last two weeks have just flown by in a good way! If I were a good blogger, I would have posted a story each day to share very specifically how God has been answering our prayers, as it truly has been daily that we have been blessed!  Another very specific way has been answering our prayers is by putting individuals in our path who have also struggled with esophageal cancer and are survivors today!  Yes, I still owe you a separate blog on that one as it's been so awesome!  And, God continues to reveal His glory through this trial.

So, I am officially to the half way mark of treatment!  3 weeks of radiation and 3 treatments of chemo down and 3 more weeks of each to go - bringing our finish line to the day before Thanksgiving.  By God's grace and the Holy Spirit's strength, I haven't felt as impacted by side effects as much as they had prepared me to be.  It's ALL GOD!  Being at the mid-point, they keep telling me this is when things will start to add up and become much tougher of a battle.  I continue to take each day as a blessing from the Lord and just revel in the strength with which He has given me, fully understanding that it may get much harder or it may not.  We have certainly become more comfortable in uncertainty. 

One of my good friends sent me this a few weeks back after he was reading his daily devotional and I felt I couldn't say it much better.  So rejoice in the fact that we will suffer, whether great or small and all relative to the one going through the suffering, but find peace knowing there is only good to come of it, whether mine our yours or someone else close to you.

"Be prepared to suffer for Me, in My Name.  All suffering has meaning in My kingdom.  Pain and problems are opportunities to demonstrate your trust in Me.  Bearing your circumstances bravely--even thanking Me for them--is one of the highest forms of praise.  This sacrifice of thanksgiving rings golden-toned bells of joy throughout heavenly realms.  On earth also, your patient suffering sends out ripples of good tidings in ever-widening circles. 

 

When suffering strikes, remember that I am sovereign and that I can bring good out of everything.  Do not try to run from pain or hide from problems.  Instead, accept adversity in My Name, offering it up to Me for My purposes.  Thus, your suffering gains meaning and draws you closer to Me.  Joy emerges from the ashes of adversity through your trust and thankfulness."

 

Romans 5:3-5 "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

The Holy Spirit has placed a peace that passes all understanding over us that is only described by God's power and grace through both cancers.  We as a family have enjoyed that blessing, which has let us pursue and find joy in all that is put before us and ultimately have grown closer to God, as a couple and as a family. 

You'll continue to see our prayer requests at the bottom of the blog and we can't thank you enough for ALL your prayers.  There is not doubt God is listening, answering clearly and frequently, and working His perfect plan.  We are definitely feeling and experiencing God's blessings and continued to be amazed at how he is using those of you here on earth to love us in a way we never knew was possible.   Thank You so very much!

Trust in Him
God Bless!
Jason

10/27/11 - Jas is Invincible with God!

Hello to All!  We have much better news to report this week - PRAISE GOD!!!

Last week, we were quickly reminded that Jas was not invincible to the side effects of chemo & radiation.  This week, we are learning that he can be invincible to the side effects with God's help!  We've been praying that Jas be an exception to the typical side effects through this treatment and God has just AMAZED us this week with how well he has been feeling.  THANK YOU GOD!  It's jaw dropping how well this week has been for him!  He has been able to drive himself to radiation everyday on his own, hasn't been sick, has continued to eat well with no issues!  We can't THANK GOD enough!

This Monday (10/24) was a complete turnaround from the Monday prior!  We decided to try the "early bird" appointment for chemo, which means that you start chemo at 7am instead of a 8:30am appointment.  We kid you not, it saved us 3-4 hours in our day by doing that!  Everything went so much quicker that day with having the 1.5 hour jumpstart.  Needless to say, our remaining 4 chemo days have all been moved to the "early bird" slot.  Go God!  And the icing on the cake was that Jas and I finished off our day with a 5 mile walk together at the C&O Canal (one of our favorite spots that we haven't been able to get to all summer) and a date night.  Boy was that time cherished!  Who would have thought we would have had such a day, after last Monday right?

The rest of the week has been fantastic for Jas and has felt as normal as it can get under our circumstances!  I was able to get to my bible study on Tuesday at church, which was so refreshing to see everyone after a long break in time and get my toosh kicked by Beth Moore - Smile.  Also on Tuesday our Pastor, Elders and Staff of the church we attend (FCF) annointed Jason with oil and prayed healing over him.  Below is the scripture to support this if you have never heard of this call to action. 

James 5:14 “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord.” (NIV)

Wednesday was a great, yet interesting day!  Taylor and I were able to attend Community Bible Study together, which we both love so much - so we had an awesome start to our day!  Upon coming home and starting lunch, I stumbled upon a stream of water in our basement.  Low and behold we had a leak in our half bathroom on the first floor.  PRAISE GOD (can't say this enough) that Jas was feeling well, as he was able to quickly resolve the problem and by the end of the day we were back up and running without any leaks or damage.  Fortunately for us, God has blessed Jason with such handy skills to know how to fix all of these things on his own so we didn't have to encounter yet another expense or wait a long time to have it repaired!  What an awesome hubby I have and how THANKFUL I am I to God for him  : ) 

To say the least, we are so incredibly grateful to have somewhat of a normal week amidst our trial!  Please keep those prayers coming!  We continue to update our prayer request list at the bottom center of our blog, so you are able to easily see our specific needs.

Thanks to all of those sweet souls out there that helped watch Taylor this week, were on call in case needed, brought meals, sent gifts, cards, encouraging scripture, etc!  We Love You!  And, please continue to share with us if our story is touching any lives out there.  That is what keeps us going right now and gives us such a PURE JOY that you can only experience when working with Christ!  Please add them to our postings, if you are able and feel comfortable, so we can continue to refer back to them when we need a day brightener!

Believing Healing in HIS Name!  With Much Love!

Meg

10/23/11 - 1 Week Down - Here We Come Week 2!

Good Evening Everyone!

We are pleased to report that Week 1 of treatment is DONE!  YAHOO!  5 more weeks to go!  One big take away from last week... Jason is not invincable.  Smile.  Laugh as you may, but I'll be honest to say that we were actually surprised that the first week of treatment was as tough on him as it was.  So, we were definitely level set on our expectations as to what to expect for the weeks to come!

Here's a recap of his first week.  We don't plan on being this detailed in weeks to come, however we thought it would be interesting for you to hear and learn the effects that chemo/radiation can have.  It sure was a learning experience for us! 

Monday, 10/17: Chemo and radiation day. We left the house at 7am and got home at 8pm.  LONG DAY!  We were absolutely wiped by the end of the day.  And, we learned that it was just too hard after being gone all day to then come home to a clingy daughter who was mean to her daddy : (  Poor Taylor is missing our norm of having Mommy/Taylor time during the day and was upset that she wasn't getting that with daddy home.  Thanks to the Couches and Shanks, we have help with Taylor spending the night with them Sunday and Monday evening now to get us through the longest days of our week. 

Tuesday, 10/18: Radiation day. While radiation was quick, compared to the long day prior, Jason had a tough day keeping anything in him that day.  Without being too graphic, if he spent anymore time on the toilet that day (YUCK), we were going to have to head back to hospital.  Praise God we didn't get to that point.  Two positives were that he was able to drive himself to Baltimore for treatment as well as get a workout in (which is so incredibly important especially during treatment)   

Wednesday, 10/19: Radiation day.  This was probably Jas' toughest day out of the entire week.  POOR GUY!  While he was able to get some medication to help with his Tuesday issues, he was borderline to throwing up the majority of the day and just WIPED out from not being able to keep food in him.  He explained it to me by comparing a pregnant woman in their first tri-mester : )  If he got one whiff of the wrong food it would put him over the edge.  Or he would take the time to make something to eat that finally sounded good, but by the time it was ready he didn't even want to look at it.  However, he did drive himself to treatment again and took a long walk that evening.   

Thursday, 10/20: Radiation day.  While not much sounded good this day to Jas, he was able to regain some of his energy.  And, he was able to drive himself to radiation.

Friday, 10/21: Radiation, Oncologist Appt & Natropath Appt.  What a good day!  Jas was starting to look and feel more like himself again.  That was encouraging!  He was able to exercise and I was able to drive with Jas because of the numerous appointments we had lined up for the day.  Radiation was quick.  Then we met with our Oncologist to make tweaks to Jason's med line up that will hopefully help with all of the above issues for a smoother Week 2.

We finished our day with our Natropath Appt with Dr. Hinderberger.  This was a very interesting appointment as typically Natropaths and Oncologists butt heads when it comes to treatment plans, since one typically prefers working with natural remedies and the other with drugs/chemicals.  After learning more of Jas' situation, the Natropath came right out and told us that he agreed with our treatment plan of chemo and radiation, however he wanted to work with us on additional supplements to enhance his treatment plan along with education on general nutrition.  PRAISE GOD!  First of all, let me just tell you how relieved we were to hear those words as we were of course forseeing the opposite lol.  That gave us such a peace of mind knowing that both of our Dr. were in alignment in regards to chemo and radiation!

As for nutrition... based on research we have done on our own as well as Dr. Hinderberger's recommendation, we are changing our diet to what is called The Alkaline Way.  The basis behind this is that your body needs to be at a PH level between 6.5 to 7.5 in order to be in a "healthy repair/restore state."  Typically when illness/disease sets in, your body is at a PH level outside of this range and you need to get it back into the range in order to begin repairing/restoring.  Ultimately, we must focus on eliminating sugar, processed foods, white flour and most meats from our diet - ensuring that Jas is eating foods with high alkalinity and staying away from foods that tend to have higher acidity.  Another really cool thing about our meeting, is the Dr. Hinderberger reminded Jas that he should be thanking God that he has a heart for hunting and fishing, as out of all of the meats that are the safest from an acidity perspective, wild game and fish are the best (in moderation).  We really appreciated that he recognized and gave credit to God for that!

Here is the link for more info on the Alkaline Way: http://www.elisaact.com/pdfs/EAB_AlkalineWay.pdf 

A couple other things that we took away from this appointment.  Jas will be giving himself a Mistletoe shot in the belly 3 days a week.  Mistletoe stimulates the immune system, helping the body fight more efficiently against cancer and other diseases. This is something that is very common over in Europe for the past 75 years, but still hasn't made a big entrance to the states yet due to the FDA.  Dr. Hinderberger is from Sweden, but has been practicing in the US for over 25 years.  He shared that the Europeans are much further along in their alternative medicine practices for treating cancer and have been proven to have very good results!  Along with the mistletoe, we walked away with a bag full of other natural supplements to help aide in the effects of radiation & chemo, along with pump the body up with some extra things that will be depleted.  Our next appt with Dr. Hinderberger will be after treatment ends to go through a detox process. 

Saturday, 10/22 & Sunday, 10/23: Jason's BEST DAYS!  He was feeling great, his energy was back and was able to exercise.  We had 2 fantastic family days together - Hooray!!!

Thanks for your continued prayers!  More updates to come shortly : )  Our goal is to have shorter, yet more frequent posts soon!  Thanks for your patience.

Trust in Him & With Much Love,

Meg
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