This is a tough update to put together, but I need to get it out there. We’ve known for a couple weeks now that the lung biopsy was kind of an all or nothing situation. If it came back negative, then we’d have a tough, but clear path out of this. If it went the other way … well, things were gonna be that much tougher, and our options would be limited. Unfortunately, we found out Friday afternoon, that the nodules in my lungs are cancer from the tumors in my chest. The docs at Sloan Kettering were very surprised – it’s just a really rare cancer to begin with, and for it to metastasize in this way is rare on top of rare. Anyway, we went from Stage 1 to Stage 4b (most advanced) in the span of a 15-minute phone call. Without getting into the medical details, this means surgery to remove the large tumors in my chest is no longer an option. The remaining option is to start chemo to see if we can hold all of it at bay or shrink it some. Unfortunately, in part because this type of cancer is so rare, they have yet to dial in drugs that are consistently effective or offer the prospect of a cure.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it, there’s a fair amount of shock, heartbreak, fear, and anger in our house right now, and it’ll take some time to work through that. But we are a strong family and eternally blessed to have each other. Please keep C and the kids in your prayers, as this is a lot on them. As I said from the beginning of this, I know God has a plan and a purpose for me, and the onus is on me to accept that plan, and to recognize and act on that purpose. As for prognoses and what the future holds, I would just say that God’s plan is still unfolding, so in my mind, regardless of what the docs say, anything is possible. We’ll keep the faith.
Thanks again for all the prayers folks! I promise the next post won’t be such a downer …