I am back at school and have started classes today. God is teaching me to learn to be content in all circumstances.

Mom sent me an update today: "Last night (Sun) dad's blood pressure dropped (74 over 50) so he was feeling quite weak. He is apparently letting more fluid out (through the cathetar) than he is taking in so they gave him more fluid via IV. He is assigned to the bed for now because he is too weak to walk around. The water retention in his feet has gone done considerably. He has a bladder infection which they are treating with antibiotics. Today (Mon) they will be giving him another scan over his whole body. I talked to him this morning and he is feeling a bit better. I'm so thankful that the Risen Lord (Who is in him) is taking care of him and knows everything that is going on in his body and He has everything under control. Praise God! Let's keep praying and giving thanks."

That's my mom!

Mom and dad, taken tonight in the lounge down the hall.

Here is dad a few days ago.

News From Dad

Thursday, February 23,2006.

Today they undertook a more aggressive chemo plan which involved many more chemicals and their backups (to protect the kidneys, liver, prevent fungi and infection in the mouth, nauseas, etc.) They IV through me quickly (within the hour) but it does have its excruciating pain on the bladder (I won't go into details). But other than that I have been relatively pain free. Lots of opportunities for ministry amongst patients. Doctors and nurses are quite reserved about religious topics. As I guess they have their protocols and training although they are respectful of our beliefs. I value your prayers.

Friday, February 24.

More chemo at 10:30 am. They run it through quick. So far the effects are similarly positive. CT scan shows the tumour on the pancreas has "shrunk" 70+ percent. Liver is still under slight stress. All else seems to be holding up. Diane is here yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Pray for her for emotional, mental, spiritual, physical strength. These trips do take their toll. Pray for me. Sleep is elusive with steriods and chemo. I get maybe three hours straight max. After that just a bit of dozing during the day. Thanks for your prayers.

-Lyle

The Tumor

60-70% of the tumor is gone from 1 week of treatment! Praise God! There is still cancer in the one set of lymph nodes. Today they injected chemo into his spine, which in turn goes to the brain, as a precaution. They are doing chemo twice a day now.

Curious George: The Movie is out now!
I got a hair cut!
Bye!

Aggressive Chemo

They started dad on aggressive chemo today. He said they give him anti-naseau medicine to counter act the chemo and then medicine to counter act the side effects of the anti-naseau stuff. They also told him it will be 6 months of aggressive chemo. So the schedule will be: 5 days on 2 days off, 5 days on 2 days off. Then 5 weeks at home. Then repeat 2 more times. They found out that the bladder problem was caused by some drugs they were giving him. So they have corrected that problem.

Prayer requests today:

-Pray for the swelling to go down so aggressive chemo can continue.
-Pray against nausea.
-Ministry opportunities with non-church going patients and their families, and the doctors and nurses.
-Praise God for all He has accomplished through our family!
-Pray for sleep.

Rough Day

I decided to stay away from the hospital today as my throat is very sore and I don't want to give dad any bugs. Christy reported he had a rough day today. He usually gets his steroids first thing in the morning but for some reason they were really late in giving it to him so he figures he will be wired well into tonight. Also he said he couldn't go to the washroom today for some reason and the nurses won't drain his bladder. I don't know what's going on there...Christy was too tired to explain it all. He was nauseous most of the day he said. They still can't do the right dose for chemo, legs and feet are still swollen.

-Pray for sleep.
-Pray about bladder issues.
-Pray for the swelling to go down so the doctors can do aggressive chemo.
-Pray about the nausea.
-Pray for my mom as she travels back to saskatoon wednesday (technically today) afternoon.

Praise God that I received my student loan today! I have been nagging the government for 2 months now, as it has been 5 and a half months since I started the process. The money had been approved to me but was held up for the last 2 months becuase of human error and a computer glich both on the part of the government. But it is here now and I have been learning patience and perseverance despite much frustration the whole way through. Praise God that student loans are so readily available in our country! I have been studying God's Word at Peace River Bible Institute since September of 2005.

More Messages From Dad

Dad wrote out some more.....

Feb 16th
I've been getting "chemo" since Thursday evening Feb 9th in the form of a steroid called Prednisone. In many poor countries around the world this is all they can afford/get. It is effective in causing the cancer to regress but cannot in itself cure it. And man, does it give you energy, an appetite and insomnia. Energizer Bunny x 40.

Today I started on Cyclophospahmide. They inject it through the IV pole into a shunt they have run up a vein that ends right at the entrance to my heart. No ill side effects.

Feb 17th
They adjust my meds and doses daily based on what is happening in my body and reactions thereafter. I have considerable water in my legs and feet and abdominal cavity. The chemo collects where there is Edema which is not good as it will kill more good cells in those areas and none of the bad cells which are not there. They've given me something called Laisik to drain these areas speedily, will likely to an ultrasound to spot blood clots (if any) today. They also started me on Rutuximab. This drug specifically looks for a "marker" found only in cancerous tumors and heads straight for them. Because of this trait the effects on "good" cells and all the negatives of treatment are minimized. They monitor my vitals constantly during these initial injections and everytime something changes they adjust the dosage up or down appropriately. The dose was not full strength because of the Edema, mentioned above, but they are working in that direction. What an amazing medical team! What an amazing God we have!

Pray that the water problem will be solved so that they can get aggressive with my therapy. Also ... there are all kinds of ministry opportunities here with non-church going patients and their families. Pray that God will use me in ministry to these dear hurting people and to the doctors and nurses to minister His grace. I am truly blessed to be here!

Visit

I've been able to visit dad the last couple of days. It's been good to be back home. Yes, I feel that Saskatoon is my home. I'm really quite exhausted tonight. Some early mornings and late nights. Dad is doing well. His legs and feet are still quite bloated and the chemo drugs will just go to the bloated area and not spread around his body. And so the amount of chemo has been reduced. He does about 2-3 hours a day depending on different things and in a smaller dose than the doctors want. I hope this makes sense because I'm really tired. Will update more later....

Messages From Dad

I got into Battleford this morning @ 4am from PRBI. I had dropped some girls off along the way. Made a bit of a detour up to Bonnyville. This morning, I mean this afternoon, mom handed me 2 pages, front and back, of things dad wrote that he wanted on my website. Some of the stuff is already on here.

Tha latest news is that dad started chemo on Thursday the 16th. Took 2 hours. On Friday it took 7 hours becuase of his blood pressure going up and down. He had to stay in bed from 10am - 5pm. We don't know how he is doing today. They start chemo at 10am 'ish each day for two weeks from Thursday the 16th.


Dad writes....

SAT. FEB 11th
Asked Diane to bring weight workout bench and 250 pounds worth of weights to take advantage of steriod muscle building potential. For some reason Diane refused to co-operate.

SUN. FEB 12th
Been a vegetarian now for 3 weeks and hospital even knows this. Progress! Good meals and vegetarian diet helps to process food better than when on meat but steriods makle me hungry and meals are skimpy. Friendly former student brought along small vegetarian pizza. Devoured in 15 minutes and went looking in hospital snack fridge for more food.

SUN. FEB 13th
Hemetology specialist showed up at 1pm. Did a bone chip-marrow-blood extract from hip bone. Explained that the cancer is Burkett's Lymphoma and that they do not see many of these in Saskatoon. They know this type of cancer likes to spread to the bone marrow and the brain and that the type I have is very aggressive.

My ... my ... my ... my ... my ... my!

Providentially, God allowed it to start in the lymph nodes near the pancreas and it spread to the tip of the pancreas where the bile duct connects. It quickly clamped the duct and jaundice revealed its presence. So it has been caught early! Praise the Lord!

It is high grade lymphoma so it spreads quickly but test so far do not show its presence anywhere but the abdomen. The bone marrow test will reveal more and they plan to do tests on the brain to determine if there is metastysis (spreading) to there. These will be done today or tomorrow (Tuesday).

2am--I am praying for good news on Valentine's Day when test results will be known and chemo may begin. Pray about nausea, further spreading of cancer, wisdom to Dr. Christian Fibich who will be administering therapy, nurses who have been wonderful once they learned they can tease me and get away with it, witness opportunities (these abound! ... it's amazing!), our church ministry that the gaps we cannot now fill will be cared for, revival in Trinity Baptist Church and beyond, and most importantly of all that the glory of God will be revealed in my circumstances so that people will know Jesus Christ as Saviour and desire to obey His Word and glorify Him. Amen. To GOD be the glory!

Psalm 20:17, "Call upon the LORD in the day of trouble and He will answer you ... some trust in horses, some trust in chariots but WE will trust in the LORD our GOD."

MON. FEB 14th
(Late) The risks of aggressive chemo were explained to me. Very hard on the cardio-vascular system. I know Diane is worried. God has given me peace. Not only heart could be affected but there is a danger of blood clots and possible strokes. These people know the signs. God will provide but do pray.

Also they want to inject chemo directly into cerebelum (head-skull base I think) because of danger of spreading. They will do tests to detect any presence and then inject. Still waiting news on when.

TUE. FEB 15th
7am-- Snowing hard outside. I got one and a half hours sleep last night because of steroids. Not tired at all. Hmm. Where's my workout bench?

The Meet

Lots of information tonight....

I phoned mom, this is what she said. Dad has fluid built up (from the intervenis) in his legs and a bit in one lung. So they have to drain that before they can start chemo. They want to start chemo possibly this week.

They put him on steroids to shrink the tumor and I guess it has been working. This is in preparation for the chemo. He's eating everything in sight, mom said. He's gained about 15 pounds through the fluids and all the food he's been eating now. Also in preparation for chemo, they are doing a heart scan.

The cancer he has has been classified as "Burkitt's Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma". Apparently, it is very rare. This type of cancer tends to spread to the bones and brain. So they are doing a bone marrow test. As well, they are doing a brain scan and taking a fluid sample from the bottom of his skull.

The chemo will be in 3 rounds. He will be in the hospital for 2 weeks at a time and then home for 2 weeks. So all together the treatment will happen over a period of 3 months or 12 weeks.

My friend Lindsey's mom, who I have mentioned on an earlier post, was on the same floor as dad. So mom and dad met her for the first time and they all prayed together. She has been released for some reason I don't know why yet. Praise God for all the encouragement and fellowship taking place!

Well, I dunno you guys.....God is definately developing my character through all this. Can you guys pray for my friend? He's going through some stuff that he doesn't want to talk about. I'm worried about him 'cause he's not really grounded in his faith. Pray that God will reveal Himself even if my friend is not seeking Him.

God

We had our youth retreat this weekend. I went into it expecting to just barely make it through and be done with it. But God had bigger plans. Despite all the up's and downs of emotions and circumstances I've been going through, God tells me that He wants to use me. He gave me words to say to the young men in my room this weekend. I feel the need to get into full-time ministry, working with teenagers.

God has been pressing on my heart such a need to seek His face. This morning in our praise rally he softened my heart, yet again, to who He is. He will never give up on me! No matter if I am feeling bogged down by everything going on, He is there. I have a picture in my head--I walk out on the stormy waters toward Jesus but I look around at everything going on around me and I start to sink. He reaches out and picks me up. This is exactly what is happening in my life. Praise God!

Despite me, God will use me. Praise Him for that! Though my body is weak, God is strong.

Recently...

So dad is at University Hospital. Mom said the doctors believe they can cure his cancer with chemo. He's meeting with a panel of doctors early this week (maybe tomorrow) to decide on treatments (how much and how long). Please pray that he will be able to stay on this natural immune builder that my mom has him on. She was really upset when a doctor told dad he wouldn't be able to.......but dad had told the doctor the wrong name of the imuune builder. Mom is really passionate about dad staying on these natural drugs because we have seen immediate results from them. I don't understand why doctors don't administer any of these natural things, they work better than synthetic drugs sometimes.

Please pray for my friend Lindsey. Her mom has had some cancer removed and now they have found another mass. They said it is in the lymph nodes and might have spread. Her mom is really worried about that. They are believers so pray accordingly.

Thank you guys so much.

In Christ,
Kevin

More News

I'm back at school....not really wanting to be here right now. I starting taking some anti-oxidents to clean out my system as I have been experiencing some health issues and they are making me really tired and sometimes sick. We have our youth retreat this weekend and I just need prayer for sleep.

I phoned mom last night and the results from dad's biopsy came back. All I found out was that it is "high grade lymphoma," meaning that it is rapidly growing/spreading. Dad has been transfered to the University Hospital as of yesterday. They want to start Chemo as soon as possible. Continue to prayer for dad's healing. The doctors seem confident they can get rid of the cancer and disolve the tumor away.

Until next time.......

Kev

Heading Out

I'm heading back to school today. Hopefully I'll be able to concentrate on school work. I will be back in Saskatoon on Feb 18th until the 26th for spring break. I'm stopping in to see dad before I leave. I will post on here when I get another chance.

Candis just left to go home which is over 2 hours away. Please continue to pray for her and her family.

Psalm 20:7
"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." (NIV)

Please Pray

Oh, you guys....the phone just rang here and it was Christy's housemate's (Candis') family. Candis' grandma has died tonight. It was not expected at all and Candis is taking it hard. Her grandma was a Christian but most of the family are not Christians and Candis thinks they will be fighting over money, etc. She dreads encountering all her family down there but she wants to be with her parents. Please pray for Candis and her family.

Good Recovery

Dad is now drinking fluids. They took the tube out of his stomach so he can start drinking. I imagine he will be eating soon enough. His colour is just about normal also. So his recovery has been really good. Praise God!

Pleasant Valley Sunday

We are heading out to church right away. We'll stop in and see dad afterward. Mom can't come 'cause she has the flu. She was sick all through the night last night. Please pray for her healing. I'll update more later today.

......later in the day........mom is feeling a bit better. We're making her some chicken soup. Dad is doing real good. He got up and sat in a chair for an hour while we were at church. It's a big process for him to move around though because of all the tubes going in and coming out. There were lots of people visiting him. We all prayed over him and once again committed his life into God's hands. Chris and I are going back this evening to visit. I don't think they will release him before we find out the results. So he will be in the hospital until after his first Chemo treatment....possibly. The doctor mentioned that some Chemo treatments can be taken at home. Everything just depends on the results of the test.

..........still later in the day........went back to tuck dad into bed. The nurses had just given him a shot of pain killer in the intervenis so he was very tired. They had taken him off of it earlier today but I guess they need to wean him off it. So we propped up his leg and said goodnight.

Better

Dad is doing better today. He's been moved from the ICU into a semi-private room. He was alert and talking more. We did our daily ritual of praying together as a family. The yellow in his skin is going away as they are still draining his bile. So the next big step is the test results. Thanks to everyone who is praying, has stopped by, and phoned. We appreciate all of you.

Visit

We all had a good rest last night. We spent a few hours with dad today. He was kinda out of it when we first got there....all he talked about was wanting water. But he can't drink or eat yet. He rested for a bit while we were there and was more alert after that. The nurses in the ICU are really good at what they do, and kind to dad. Um, what else......another doctor confirmed that it was probably some sort of Lymphoma, the way it behaves and looks. But the test results will be in by next Thursday.

Clarification and More News

Just to clarify...they did not remove the tumor. The unexpected result of the surgery was a sample from his lymph node.

The doctor said they'd be draining the bile duct with a shunt soon. Dad is still pretty jaundis. He is weak tonight, which was to be expected right after surgery. Surgery was at 8:45 this morning, we got in to see him at about 3pm (I think). We stayed for a while and then left and came back later. We prayed with dad quite a bit of the time. We're all pretty exhausted tonight. Going to see dad tomorrow morning.

God bless.

Not What They Thought...

The doctors opened dad up this morning about 8:45. They didn't have to do the extensive surgery--removing part of a lot of major organs! Mom praises God for the fact that they didn't have to remove all those parts of major organs. But they took a biopsy of the lymph nodes and sent them away for testing. The results of that won't be known for a week.

The doctor believes what dad has is Lymphoma. It is some sort of cancer of the lymph nodes, we think. They want to start Chemotheropy as soon as dad recovers from surgery to get rid of the tumor. He's going to be in the hospital for quite a while.

We appreciate your prayers and support as the process continues. Pray that the cancer hasn't spread far!!

For more information on Lymphoma go to:
http://www.lymphoma.ca
or
http://www.lymphoma.org