Still Hanging On - Better News

After two weeks of feeling that Matt was getting close to the end of his cancer journey, we returned to the cancer center and received a wonderful Christmas present!  The tumor markers are down and his blood work looks much better!  We are all hopeful that the increased chemo is working right now and will give us more time.

Our day was full of blessings.  We began by meeting a wonderful couple in the waiting room who are just a few years younger than us.  The husband is going through the same cancer as Matt and they have a lot in common.  Matt was complaining about the rash that he gets with his chemo and the other patient told him he looked good in comparison to how he looked when he was on the same medicine.  His wife showed us a picture and sure enough he was right!  :)

Funny, but Matt seeing this picture really, really, helped him to not feel so sorry for himself.  It changed his perception and he more easily accepts this treatment now.

Meeting with the oncologist was really beneficial.  We talked in depth about how much time Matt has left, what options are available, his opinions about those options, and we were able to get some clarifications.  Again I was amazed how blessed we are to have such a caring doctor who feels sad when his patients are not getting the responses he would like.  He talked with Matt about understanding how difficult it is to be knocked down by the chemo, especially if he feels that it is not working.  He asked Matt to contine with this chemo for a while longer as it now seems to be working.

Matt has decided to continue and I will try harder to get him up and moving more.  According to our oncologist Matt has more time than we had thought.  I am hoping the encouraging news we got will boost all of our spirits and help Matt push himself to stay strong.

If any of you would like to visit, Matt really enjoys company.  If you see his eyes starting to droop then that is the cue he is tired and needs a nap.  :)  If you would like to visit and can convince him to go on a short walk, even better!!  :)  :)

We pray that you all will have a very Merry Christmas and that your New Year will be blessed with beautiful memories of love and joy!