Hello everyone,
I'm sorry for not posting more frequently, but as I said in my last blog entry, I have kind of learned to live with my cancer and not let it take up as much of my time and thoughts as in the past.
The Whole Brain Radiation (WBR) treatments that I went through in December 2014 are now just a distant memory. My hair came back for the most part but is now much more gray and sparse especially on the crown of my head. I didn't realize how cold winter winds are until there was no (or little) hair on my head to keep it warm... thank goodness for stocking caps!
What prompted me to post once again is to pass along some great news that I received in November. In late October, I went in for an MRI and a PET Scan. If you're not familiar with a PET Scan, they gave me a shot of a solution that contains radioactive isotopes. Then, after a half hour or so, they do the scan. The isotopes seek out the areas in your body where there is rapid cell growth and/or rapidly dividing cells (i.e. "hotspots").
In mid November, I went in for a follow up with my oncologist, Dr. Mazri and we reviewed the results of the tests. The MRI showed two small spots in my brain that were considrably smaller than they were in my last MRI. They are actully dead cells (from the lesions that the radiation killed) that are in my brain and now my body is slowly absorbing those dead cells and eventually the spots will disappear completely.
The more exciting news was that the PET Scan showed NO hot spots!! In other words there are currently no active cancer cells in my body! All that Catherine and I could say was, "Awesome!", immediately followed by, "Praise God!". The first question out of my mouth was, "Does that mean that I can stop taking the chemo pills?!". Dr. Mazri said, "No... the reason you have no hot spots is because of that treatment and you need to keep taking it to maintain (hopefully) that status." That was a bit of a let down but none the less, I am still currently cancer free!!
This news did nothing but confirm the awesome power of God in my life! As I said in my last blog entry, "I believe that my only hope (or the hope for any of us) is to put my life in God's hands and to savor each and every day. I will continue to worship and praise God and thank Him for everyday with my familly and friends. I will continue to use whatever gifts He has given me to glorify His name and help in bringing more people into His Kingdom. And, whenever He decides that I my time has come to join Him, I know that I will be in His Kingdom because I am justified through my faith in Christ."
I will end close with this... If you have given your life to Christ, thank and worship Him often, pray endlessly, and use your talents to glorify His name. If you haven't accepted Christ, or if you have but are not really "walking the walk", I ask you to turn away from you sin and apathy and turn to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. In Him is your, my, everyone's only hope for salvation.
God Bless you one and all,
Jace
