I feel very supported by the love and prayers and concern of you all. So many cards and notes and texts and calls: thank you so much! It really makes a difference in my heart and soul.

Let me review the history: it’s hard for me to keep track of all these details, so I’m guessing it’s not easy for others to do so. On April 14 they discovered a 5 centimeter tumor in my large intestine. After several more doctor visits and various scans, I had surgery on May 16 to remove that tumor, along with about 40% of my large intestine. With those scans they discovered that the cancer had spread, with a small tumor in my left lung. They biopsied that and found that it was not ‘lung cancer,’ but colon cancer cells that had migrated to the lung and started a new colony. In mid June I had five doses of radiation therapy, spread over two weeks, to take care of that tumor.

But since we know that rogue cancer cells got out on the loose to form that tumor in the lung, we have to assume that there could be other rogue cancer cells still present, getting ready to form another new tumor somewhere: and so I’m now in a course of chemotherapy designed to find and kill whatever rogue cancer cells might be lurking about. I’ve now received the first two rounds of chemo, and will continue to receive a new dose every two weeks until mid December. Whew!

So far the side effects have been minor. The most noticeable one is that I get hiccups the second day. They just randomly start. I have been able to get that to stop with breathing exercises. Then they start up again, for no obvious reason, half an hour later. Also, I don’t have as much energy or stamina as I would like, so I have to think about what I can do and what I can’t. The famous chemotherapy side effect is losing your hair, and that may well happen for me, but so far I haven’t experienced that. It’s early times, though. Maybe in a few more weeks I’ll send a photo showing my bald head.

In the midst of all the rough and tumble of this world we live in, we are all sustained by the grace of God. I have been experiencing that, and I pray that you have, too. Whatever happens, in life and in death, we belong to Jesus.

Again, I am so very grateful for all your prayers and love.

In Christ’s grace –