10/2/11 - God's hands at work

Hi Everyone - 

We wanted to send an update on how this past week went for Jason.   It was quite the whirlwind for sure!  For those that we haven't been able to reach out to yet, please please please know we love you.  It truly has been overwhelming how many hours/days that we have spent at the Univ of MD this week, which has left us very exhausted by the end of each day along with a clingy daughter : )

As for the news...we received our pathology results back on Friday (9/30), confirming that Jason has adenocarcinoma of the esophagus, aka esophageal cancer.  To boil it down, the cancer has spread to other lymph nodes but not to any other organ - PRAISE GOD - as this means he is still eligible for treatment including surgery.  This treatment will include a combination of radiation, chemo initially.  After this treatment is finished and if the cancer has not spread to other organs, they will proceed with a surgery (esophagectomy).  While it was a really tough week to process the news, we realize that the news could have been worse and for that we feel blessed! 

For those of you who like the nitty gritty details, here you go :)  Those who do not, skip to the prayer requests lol.  There is a tumor on the lower end of the esophagus that attached itself to an ulcer, which is confirmed to be adenocarcinoma.  Then the upper portion of the esophagus had 2 lymph nodes that showed up on the PET scan, which after testing one of the two, was also found to be adenocarcinoma.  For those of you who aren't familiar with lymph nodes (as I wasn't until this week) they are your filter system that the esophagus is lined with from the top to bottom.  So, what this means is that the cancer passed through the lymph nodes between the tumor and upper nodes which is now collecting in the nodes at the top. 

There are about 5 inches between the tumor and upper lymph nodes that have been identified with cancer.  When you think about the treatment area, remember that they always go above and below the cancerous areas to treat and then ultimately remove in surgery to have negative margins (remove all the cancer).  The tricky part this time around with radiation will be them determining whether or not Jason will need to have a feeding tube beforehand or not.  Once treatment starts, they do not want to irritate his esophagus any further than it will already be, therefore they will make their decision as a team whether or not a feeding tube is necessary from the beginning.  They say that the first couple weeks Jason may feel ok, however the last 2 to 3 weeks of his treatment will be EXTREMELY difficult.  Also, they say for some the few weeks following post treatment can even be the worst in terms of how Jas may feel!  So, this will be much much different this time around knowing that Megan may need to drive him to Baltimore every M-F if he's not feeling well.   Also, the first couple weeks he may be fine with eating as the tumor will more than likely shrink.  However later in the treatment his esophagus will be "intensely sunburned" and it will more than likely be very uncomfortable to get food/liquids down.

So, Jason is potentially going to have a little over 2/3 of his esophagus removed in surgery, assuming that the cancer has not spread after the treatment.  Here's the crazy part!  When they move to surgery, they will take his stomach (think of what an old wine sack looks like) and stretch it into garden hose to create a brand new esophagus - cancer free.  Pretty wild right?  Well, the seriousness of this surgery is considered up there to what open heart surgeries are in many ways.  Jas will be in the hospital a minimum of 2 weeks after the surgery and won't really feel like himself for a good 3 to 6 months after.

While this all sounds awful, know that we will take this news any day knowing that the news could have been worse!  And for that, we are staying positive!  This is our best chance of fighting off this cancer!

Many of you are asking, how can we help?  For now, we've summarized what we feel the most helpful things to be.  After we know more about timing of treatments, surgery, etc. we will for sure have a much larger number of needs, as we know that it's going to take a team to get through this trial!  So if you are willing, here is what you can do for now:
1. Pray for our prayer requests below.
2. Continue to email, text, etc. any scripture you have that we can add to our "wallpaper" in our house.  It is a wonderful blessing to be showered with God's word throughout our entire house and also kept Megan company during the 4 hour scope last week :) 
3. If you know of anyone who had esophageal cancer and is doing well today, please see if they would be willing to speak with us!  We want to surround ourselves with as much positivity as possible, and not get caught up in the ugly statistics!
4. Pray with us!  We would love for you to call, visit, etc. and pray out loud with us for encouragement!

Here's our prayer request list as we ask for your help in lifting these specific needs up to God! 
1. God's healing hands on Jason, to rid the cancer entirely from his body and to STOP all further growth of the cancer;
2. Continued wisdom and knowledge on what the best treatment plan and who the best treatment team will be as we learn of the options;
3. For Jas to be able to have an operation to remove the tumor - it's looking good, but we need continued prayer
4. Godly wisdom on miscellaneous decisions we will need to make quickly (counseling, family planning, etc.)
5. To help us stay focused on today and not tomorrow; to help us to hand over all fears and anxiety to God and be blanketed with his perfect peace that only he can provide during a trial like this;  (Isaiah 26:3 - You WILL keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in God.)
6. Strength and endurance for Jason, as he is going to need to be a strong fighter!
7. For our minds to stay focused on God and to have positive attitudes (keeping the evil one OUT), knowing that God WILL use us to further his kingdom in this situation.  (THANK YOU for all of the scriptures that you sent! Keep them coming please!  We will most likely have new wallpaper decor throughout our house by the end of this trial!!!)8. Daily revelation of where and who God wants us to be witnessing/serving through this experience and to give us the boldness and wisdom to do so.

Answered Prayers:  THANK YOU, THANK YOU GOD!!!
1. For God to prepare our hearts for the news we will be hearing over the next couple weeks regarding the stage of cancer in Jas' esophagus as well as whether there is cancer anywhere else in his body - Oh this was quite a story!  God clearly did this but not in a way we would have ever expected.  We went to the Univ of MD on Tuesday morning for the scope (after both of us clearing our entire day and having arranged for Taylor to be taken care of) to find out that the scope was for Wednesday morning.  Wheewy! Clearly we were not ready for the news Tuesday, but God intended for us to spend a day together as a family and prepare one more additional day.  We truly were in a better place on Wednesday when we heard the preliminary thoughts of our GI Dr.   
2. For the cancer to not have spread anywhere else in Jas' body - It has not spread to any other organs!!!
3. For our appointments to go off with out disruption and they be informative and encouraging - We spent last Friday with the Univ of MD team that specializes in esophageal cancer including the medical oncologist, radiology team, surgeon and back again with our GI Dr. while talking to good ole' Dr. Aboulafia daily also!  Many times along the way they mentioned the word "cure" as a potential result of this treatment which was very encouraging!  It was almost humorous, as we felt like we were top recruits this week.  Jas is such a rare case, being that he is under 50 years old with  his type of cancer, on top of having a sarcoma this year also.  Needless to say, they made us feel very loved and wanted to be treated at their hospital lol.  
4. To be able to go on vacation - While we didn't share this request with many of you, Jas and I have been praying that we would still be able to go on our planned vacation to Virginia Beach this week.  And guess what, we are there!  Praise God, as we really needed this time to further research, regroup and process as a family!  Our God is so tenderhearted that he knew we would have 2 vacations planned this year, well before we knew that Jason had his Sarcoma and now Esophageal Cancer, right after diagnosis but before treatment would begin.  Those who know cancer, know how small of a window this is!

We would be remiss if we did not mention our favorites verses that are helping get us through this trial : )
Romans 8:18 and 28:
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (ESV)
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (ESV)

In case any of you listened to the message our Pastor delivered a couple weekends ago, here is the link to his message last week.  Also, very applicable and encouraging! 

Link to message: http://www.fcfchurch.com/media.php?pageID=29  (Click on the 9/25 Formative Lessons Message)
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU so much for your continued love, support & encouragement! 

We Love You and are so blessed to have you in our lives! 

Jas & Meg & Taylor

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