Hello Friends - It's hard to believe our last post was from 2022! Sadly, after taking a few years off, it's time to rev the blog back up again as we have some heartbreaking news to share with you all.
This past week we learned that Jason's cancer has returned and metastasized to his lungs, abdomen, spleen, liver & spine. To be honest, we and our team of Doctors are all in shock at this point. Jason was 5 years out since his last surgery and typically you can start to let your guard down at this big mile marker.
What started off as what we thought were 3 separate issues of a bad/scary sounding cough, GI issues and intense neck/upper shoulder pain led to an x-ray being ordered last week that showed an enormous amount of fluid that had nearly collapsed his left lung. This then led to an immediate admission at NIH to drain 3 Liters of fluid off and then having a CT and PET scan to find out of this metastasis. Jason was admitted for a few days last week to work through all of the testing needed.
As of this Wednesday, he is back at NIH again for a few days to retrieve biopsies needed to determine which cancer has returned. They have confirmed so far that it is a carcinoma, but it will be a few days before we know if it's the esophageal or the gastric cancer that has returned. Their best guess is that it's the gastric cancer. During the biopsy process today, they drained another 3 Liters of fluid off his left side of his chest and put in a lung catheter so that after he returns home he will be able to drain the fluid out himself a few times a week. Even since his biopsy earlier today, another 1.5 liters of residual fluid has come out. No wonder he has been so uncomfortable!
At this point the plan is for him to come home tomorrow (Friday) and head straight to an oncology consult @1pm in Frederick that our Dr. has arranged. Their hopes are that we will receive official results back from the biopsies early next week. Once they have confirmation which cancer it is, they can then tell us our best treatment options and possibly even start treatment next week if Jas chooses. They feel even 1-2 rounds of chemo could be enough to slow down the secretions the cancer in his lungs are causing that are leading to all this excess fluid and slow the spread of the cancer to buy us time to see if Jason qualifies for immunotherapy. If he qualifies for immunotherapy, it could be up to a 2-3 month waiting process as they work on harvesting, growing what they need to grow and then infusing the cancer fighting cells back into his body. Due to him being on steroids for his horrible neck pain, there is a 6 week waiting process they require before they allow them to use biopsies that may have been exposed to steroids. They have seen some positive results from immunotherapy recently, but it's a matter of whether he qualifies and if he is in a good enough state to do so 2-3 months down the road.
So in the meantime, our goal is to try to build back as much weight on Jason as we can, as he has lost a significant amount of weight and muscle mass extremely quickly this past month, even this past week. He is getting close to the point that they may not even allow him to do chemo if he chooses that path due to how weak and frail he is right now. And if he continues to struggle with appetite/eating, not getting enough calories in, they may need to go to a feeding tube.
We know this is a LOT for everyone involved as we have such a loving tribe God has blessed us with that cares deeply for Jas and our family We ask for prayers on clarity for the path forward. The poor guy has been through 3 cancers already and has done a LOT of medical treatments these past 15 years. He knows the choice is up to him and we understand and will support him in whatever decision he chooses to make. And we also know that every time we have been in a position where we have turned to the Lord for clarity, He has provided it.
It's so interesting that for the past few years God has laid on my heart the importance of building my own personal Altar of Remembrance, like he called those to do in the Old Testament in Joshua 4. By this I mean digging into the significant moments of my life where the Lord showed his love and faithfulness to me in INCREDIBLE ways. I was even asked to speak about this at a women's ministry retreat a handful of years ago. And boy am I glad I have that Altar of Remembrance mapped out and have frequently visited it over the past handful of years. I see now by taking time to reflect on how God has showered me with his love and faithfulness in the past, my faith has grown so much in trusting Him and His plan. And that however hard the future may be, I can trust that God will be right there with us each step of the way and continue to show us how He is able to do "EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY above all that we ask or think." Ephesians 3:20-21
For those in our tribe reading this, know we love you and are so thankful for all of the love you have poured out to our family already! We can't imagine walking through this without you! You are literally the hands and feet of Jesus here on earth!
With Much Love,
Meg
