I had another visit with the doc today. My tumor marker is steadily on the rise. It had gone all the way down to 31.1. Since then it went up to 34, then 37 and now 39. I asked him if the chemotherapy is starting to level off in its effectiveness and he shook his head yes. It's just like the last regimen I was on. It does a good job for a while and then it begins to fade off. Doc says we'll try to finish this regimen (which goes through January) and get a scan at the end of January.
He is also prescribing some things to get rid of or at least contain the sinus infection. He is also doing some things to help my breathing. It has gotten a bit haggard lately. Is Haggard a real word? Anyway, I feel decent and I still enjoy life. I got to deer hunt with my brothers this year. That was a special blessing as we don't get to do a whole lot together these days. I hope to do it again next year.
Some may ask if I'm worried about the marker rising and the chemotherapy losing its effectiveness. Not really. The marker is considerably low compared to others and as far as the chemo is concerned, well, it's just a form of medical practice. God will decide what will work and what will not. I'm sure He isn't counting on the chemo to heal me so why should I. He has His hand on my body and nothing happens without His doing or consent so pray that He will allow healing. It's hard to know the mind of God on such matters, but it doesn't hurt to share our mind with Him and pray to that end, so please pray.
Thanks to all of you who follow this blog and pray. Remember to pray for us spiritually, emotionally and mentally as well. It is an all around battle. Thanks also for your responses. They are so very encouraging and we look forward to reading them from day to day. Share the blog with others and recruit the prayer warriors. We do so appreciate it.
God bless.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Small Details to pray about
Hey all,
Just letting you know that I had a treatment a week ago last Friday and every time I have a treatment they take blood and check my counts to see if I'm healthy enough to take the treatment. If the blood counts are low then they have to put the treatment off until they are high enough again. I do have some counts that are beginning to bottom out a little so pray that they will stay high enough to take treatments.
The other reason I tell you this is because they also check my cancer marker as well. The doc says it went up a little when they check it this last treatment. How much I don't' know because I asked him in passing instead of during an appointment when he would usually have my chart in front of him. He said "It went up a little, but it will go back down again". It has come to the point where it will slow down and bounce up and down throughout the rest of the treatments. It's a little nerve racking if I allow myself to focus on the marker, but I don't. However, it is very worthy of our efforts in prayer. That is why I post this information. This is where the battle gets long and gaining ground is slow. So pray for patience or for quicker results.
We do so appreciate all of your prayers and your responses. How encouraging it is to know that God's people have enlisted themselves in helping us fight this fight. Pass on our blog to others and encourage them to pray as well.
God bless
Just letting you know that I had a treatment a week ago last Friday and every time I have a treatment they take blood and check my counts to see if I'm healthy enough to take the treatment. If the blood counts are low then they have to put the treatment off until they are high enough again. I do have some counts that are beginning to bottom out a little so pray that they will stay high enough to take treatments.
The other reason I tell you this is because they also check my cancer marker as well. The doc says it went up a little when they check it this last treatment. How much I don't' know because I asked him in passing instead of during an appointment when he would usually have my chart in front of him. He said "It went up a little, but it will go back down again". It has come to the point where it will slow down and bounce up and down throughout the rest of the treatments. It's a little nerve racking if I allow myself to focus on the marker, but I don't. However, it is very worthy of our efforts in prayer. That is why I post this information. This is where the battle gets long and gaining ground is slow. So pray for patience or for quicker results.
We do so appreciate all of your prayers and your responses. How encouraging it is to know that God's people have enlisted themselves in helping us fight this fight. Pass on our blog to others and encourage them to pray as well.
God bless
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Scan results good
Hey, all!
Sorry to keep you all waiting for the results of my scan. It has been a crazy week. Dr. Huh says the reports came back good stating that the legions or tumors are stable. So, for now we have stopped the growth of the cancer in the lungs. The liver is still stable as well. Now we have to begin praying that this treatment reinforces that work and continues to shut down the processes the cancer established to be able to grow. Pray that the tumor marker goes down as well. It was last charted at 31.1. The lower it goes the less the cancer can grow. It's complicated to explain, but know that a lowering tumor marker is always good. Ideally we want it to go all the way to zero. That's when you know you're putting the hurt on the cancer. It was at 3.8 before it began to grow again last May so we know it is a possibility.
Dr. Huh also ordered a scan to be done on my head at the last minute to make sure things had not progressed in that direction. They were negative (PTL). On the bad side of things, the doc said that I have developed a sinus infection due to the chemotherapy. Pray that the antibiotics can deal with it before it becomes a sinus surgery situation again. I really hate the whole surgery thing. It seems like a small thing, but my body has no ability to fight this on it's own, so pray that God spares me the misery of a lasting infection and it's draining affects on my body.
I would also ask that you pray for a patient of ours. Her name is Norma and she has fought cancer for many years now and she is slowly fading from this life. I went to see her today in her home and she is in Hospice care just waiting for God to take her home. She is saved and knows heaven to be her final home. She and her family need our prayers.
I know that there are many who are reading this blog and I ask that you pray for us. You must know that this is much more than a physical battle. God desires to use my cancer for His glory, but it won't happen if I can't get up every day with the Hope of my salvation and a readiness to give an account of that to those who need to hear it. It's a spiritual battle and I need your prayers for that as well.
Thank you all for your love and prayers. It truly does make the difference in our lives from one day to the next. God bless you all.
Sorry to keep you all waiting for the results of my scan. It has been a crazy week. Dr. Huh says the reports came back good stating that the legions or tumors are stable. So, for now we have stopped the growth of the cancer in the lungs. The liver is still stable as well. Now we have to begin praying that this treatment reinforces that work and continues to shut down the processes the cancer established to be able to grow. Pray that the tumor marker goes down as well. It was last charted at 31.1. The lower it goes the less the cancer can grow. It's complicated to explain, but know that a lowering tumor marker is always good. Ideally we want it to go all the way to zero. That's when you know you're putting the hurt on the cancer. It was at 3.8 before it began to grow again last May so we know it is a possibility.
Dr. Huh also ordered a scan to be done on my head at the last minute to make sure things had not progressed in that direction. They were negative (PTL). On the bad side of things, the doc said that I have developed a sinus infection due to the chemotherapy. Pray that the antibiotics can deal with it before it becomes a sinus surgery situation again. I really hate the whole surgery thing. It seems like a small thing, but my body has no ability to fight this on it's own, so pray that God spares me the misery of a lasting infection and it's draining affects on my body.
I would also ask that you pray for a patient of ours. Her name is Norma and she has fought cancer for many years now and she is slowly fading from this life. I went to see her today in her home and she is in Hospice care just waiting for God to take her home. She is saved and knows heaven to be her final home. She and her family need our prayers.
I know that there are many who are reading this blog and I ask that you pray for us. You must know that this is much more than a physical battle. God desires to use my cancer for His glory, but it won't happen if I can't get up every day with the Hope of my salvation and a readiness to give an account of that to those who need to hear it. It's a spiritual battle and I need your prayers for that as well.
Thank you all for your love and prayers. It truly does make the difference in our lives from one day to the next. God bless you all.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Scan and x-ray results coming
To all who are praying I thought that I would give you a heads up on some results we will be waiting to recieve. This Friday (10/26) I will have a scan done from my shoulders to my pelvis and they are looking for any growth or spreading that may have occured since the cancer has grown in my lungs last summer. I like to think that they are looking for any shrinkage that may have taken place since I started this last regimen. I have already had some x-rays done of my chest last Thursday (10/18) to see if there are any fractures in my ribs. Sometimes when cancer has spread to the bone it will compromise the integrity of the bone and cause fractures which in turn cause pain. I've been having that kind of pain, but the doc says that it is probably due to the chemotherapy. The x-rays are more for ruling out the spread instead of confirming it. The results of these tests will come next Tuesday (10/30) and we will post the results asap. Since I work for my doctor I may get them sooner, but I have an official appointment next Tuesday so I expect he'll wait until then.
Other than these things I am doing well. Many of the cancer syptoms have gone away except the labored breathing and lack of energy. The doc changed my meds in an attempt to alleviate my breathing problem and some high blood pressure issues. In doing so I have pain throughout my body because the meds he took away were to help me cope with the pain of chemotherapy. Though my breathing and blood pressure may be getting a little better I now have to tolerate the pain. It's always a trade-off. However, I think it may be easier, at this point, to manage the pain than it is to not be able to breath well. I really hate the whole shortness of breath thing.
I have really enjoyed settling in to my new ministry of being a cancer chaplain for my doctor. It is so neat to be able to freely spread seeds of the gospel on the hearts of the patients from day to day. I love the people I work with. They care for me daily it seems and I'm fortunate to be under their constant care. They care for me because they care. It's nice. I love them and pray for them often. Dr. Huh is a great doctor and his care for the patients is rivaled by no one in the immediate area. He truly cares for them. I pray for him as he carries an enormous weight on his shoulders of trying to heal people of a killing disease. Some of those patients are not going to be healed and it falls to him to inform them of their fate. I see him struggle with this from time to time and I pray for him. Many patients have told me of the compassion he has shown them and how he has even shed tears with them when the news isn't good. Enough cannot be said of Dr. Huh and his staff.
We are settling into our new home now (sorry no pics yet) and we are so very thankful to God for everything He has done to bring this about. We were surrounded from day one by about 12-15 people who helped us clean, paint, move and settle in. If I start thanking people I will miss someone. It's almost as if God said to these people " Here are the Brokering's, I'm entrusting them into your care. Do for them what is necessary to move and I will watch and reward accordingly" and they heard Him say this and obeyed immediately. I assure you, they will be abundantly rewarded. God bless you all.
In closing I would ask you to pray for some faithful prayer warriors who have been praying for me. Mrs. Brahs and Mr. Owatta. They both have been such encouragements to me, but unfortunately they have been afflicted with the same thing that I have, colorectal /colon cancer. As you pray for me include them as well. Their faithful prayers have meant so much to me and I would imagine our prayers would mean as much to them. Share this blog with others that they may pray as well.
Thanks and God bless you all for you love and prayers
Other than these things I am doing well. Many of the cancer syptoms have gone away except the labored breathing and lack of energy. The doc changed my meds in an attempt to alleviate my breathing problem and some high blood pressure issues. In doing so I have pain throughout my body because the meds he took away were to help me cope with the pain of chemotherapy. Though my breathing and blood pressure may be getting a little better I now have to tolerate the pain. It's always a trade-off. However, I think it may be easier, at this point, to manage the pain than it is to not be able to breath well. I really hate the whole shortness of breath thing.
I have really enjoyed settling in to my new ministry of being a cancer chaplain for my doctor. It is so neat to be able to freely spread seeds of the gospel on the hearts of the patients from day to day. I love the people I work with. They care for me daily it seems and I'm fortunate to be under their constant care. They care for me because they care. It's nice. I love them and pray for them often. Dr. Huh is a great doctor and his care for the patients is rivaled by no one in the immediate area. He truly cares for them. I pray for him as he carries an enormous weight on his shoulders of trying to heal people of a killing disease. Some of those patients are not going to be healed and it falls to him to inform them of their fate. I see him struggle with this from time to time and I pray for him. Many patients have told me of the compassion he has shown them and how he has even shed tears with them when the news isn't good. Enough cannot be said of Dr. Huh and his staff.
We are settling into our new home now (sorry no pics yet) and we are so very thankful to God for everything He has done to bring this about. We were surrounded from day one by about 12-15 people who helped us clean, paint, move and settle in. If I start thanking people I will miss someone. It's almost as if God said to these people " Here are the Brokering's, I'm entrusting them into your care. Do for them what is necessary to move and I will watch and reward accordingly" and they heard Him say this and obeyed immediately. I assure you, they will be abundantly rewarded. God bless you all.
In closing I would ask you to pray for some faithful prayer warriors who have been praying for me. Mrs. Brahs and Mr. Owatta. They both have been such encouragements to me, but unfortunately they have been afflicted with the same thing that I have, colorectal /colon cancer. As you pray for me include them as well. Their faithful prayers have meant so much to me and I would imagine our prayers would mean as much to them. Share this blog with others that they may pray as well.
Thanks and God bless you all for you love and prayers
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Grandpa went to be with the Lord
Thanks to all of you who have been praying for our grandpa with small cell cancer. He passed peacefully this morning (10-3-07) in his home at 10:17a.m.
The funeral is tentatively Friday. Pray for hearts to be touched. You never know how his passing may provide an opportunity for others to think of their own mortality and eternal destination.
Pray also for grandma and their children as they were all with him when he drew his last breath. The impact of that is a little more reality than anyone would want to deal with.
The funeral is tentatively Friday. Pray for hearts to be touched. You never know how his passing may provide an opportunity for others to think of their own mortality and eternal destination.
Pray also for grandma and their children as they were all with him when he drew his last breath. The impact of that is a little more reality than anyone would want to deal with.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Blessings to share
Hey, All!
Just wanted to update you on some things that are happening in the Brokering family. We have sold our home and bought a different one. We are in the process of moving and everyone is exhausted. We closed on the new home last Thursday and we had planned to get in that night to clean and unload at least one trailer full of packed boxes. When we got there we were met by about 12 or 15 people that had set aside their evening to help us get started right away. They all had their cleaning buckets, painting equipment and trucks to help get even more stuff moved than we had planned. This has continued for the past 7 days and all of the cleaning and painting is done and we have moved several loads of boxes in and unpacked them. They have also taken care of many minor repairs and made some changes that the lady of the house needed to have taken care of. UNBELIEVABLE! What they have done for us in the past few days would have taken us weeks or months. Thank the Lord for sending them to us to help when I'm down and unable to function.
I heard from the doc today and he tells me that my tumor marker has dropped 21 points from 55 to 34 since I started my new chemo on August 10th. This is a blessing. I have had 4 of the 12 treatments that he has prescribed for me. After my 6th treatment he plans to do a CT scan to check the progress of the treatments. The 6th treatment will be on October 19 and he will scan sometime after that. It's hard to tell exactly on what date the scan will be done. Things can change his mind depending on how well the treatments & tumor marker are doing.
I have overcome all of the symptoms of the growing cancer in my lungs except the shortness of breath. I can't climb a flight of stairs without breathing heavily and feeling a heaviness in my lungs and chest. The best that I can describe it is that it feels like someone is pushing on my chest while I'm trying to catch my breath. Other than that I have no pain, my appetite is back, I've gained 4 or 5 pounds back and the exhaustion is now caused by the chemo and not the cancer.
I tolerated the treatment last Friday much better than I did the last one. I will be doing much better when the move is over and there is a peaceful place to rest. The move is a big job, but with so many helpers my participation has been minimal. I get in trouble every time I try to contribute in the smallest ways. I'm learning the meaning of this verse: 2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. I've never gotten so much done as I have since I've had cancer. The weakest time of my life is filled with the ability to accomplish much. God just continually shows Himself strong in the midst of my weakness. AMAZING GRACE!
Thank you for all of your prayers and comments. You may never know on this side of glory how encouraging it is to know that you are praying and to hear from you regularly. Thanks.
I will be posting news on my progress as it comes, but until then pray, pray, pray.
God bless,
The Brokerings
Just wanted to update you on some things that are happening in the Brokering family. We have sold our home and bought a different one. We are in the process of moving and everyone is exhausted. We closed on the new home last Thursday and we had planned to get in that night to clean and unload at least one trailer full of packed boxes. When we got there we were met by about 12 or 15 people that had set aside their evening to help us get started right away. They all had their cleaning buckets, painting equipment and trucks to help get even more stuff moved than we had planned. This has continued for the past 7 days and all of the cleaning and painting is done and we have moved several loads of boxes in and unpacked them. They have also taken care of many minor repairs and made some changes that the lady of the house needed to have taken care of. UNBELIEVABLE! What they have done for us in the past few days would have taken us weeks or months. Thank the Lord for sending them to us to help when I'm down and unable to function.
I heard from the doc today and he tells me that my tumor marker has dropped 21 points from 55 to 34 since I started my new chemo on August 10th. This is a blessing. I have had 4 of the 12 treatments that he has prescribed for me. After my 6th treatment he plans to do a CT scan to check the progress of the treatments. The 6th treatment will be on October 19 and he will scan sometime after that. It's hard to tell exactly on what date the scan will be done. Things can change his mind depending on how well the treatments & tumor marker are doing.
I have overcome all of the symptoms of the growing cancer in my lungs except the shortness of breath. I can't climb a flight of stairs without breathing heavily and feeling a heaviness in my lungs and chest. The best that I can describe it is that it feels like someone is pushing on my chest while I'm trying to catch my breath. Other than that I have no pain, my appetite is back, I've gained 4 or 5 pounds back and the exhaustion is now caused by the chemo and not the cancer.
I tolerated the treatment last Friday much better than I did the last one. I will be doing much better when the move is over and there is a peaceful place to rest. The move is a big job, but with so many helpers my participation has been minimal. I get in trouble every time I try to contribute in the smallest ways. I'm learning the meaning of this verse: 2Co 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. I've never gotten so much done as I have since I've had cancer. The weakest time of my life is filled with the ability to accomplish much. God just continually shows Himself strong in the midst of my weakness. AMAZING GRACE!
Thank you for all of your prayers and comments. You may never know on this side of glory how encouraging it is to know that you are praying and to hear from you regularly. Thanks.
I will be posting news on my progress as it comes, but until then pray, pray, pray.
God bless,
The Brokerings
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Pray for my grandfather
Thanks for the prayers. I'm doing a bit better than last night, but have a way to go before I'm fit to funtion in society. Pray for my breathing. I get winded very easily and it causes heaviness in my chest. Takes a few minutes to shake it off. No word yet from the doc as to how the treatments are doing. I do feel better in terms of cancer symtoms except for the breating.
I hate to add to your prayer list, but I recently learned that my grandfather has small cell cancer on his lungs. It is a ridiculously fast growing cancer and the mass in the middle of his chest is pretty big. He is 85 and we all wonder how strong he is to fight this disease. The doc says that he may have between 9 to 12 months with chemotherapy.
He has had cancer in his lungs before years ago and they removed the lobe that it was in and he has lived a very good life since. This is a different strand of cancer and the treatments are harsh so I'm heavy hearted for him knowing what lies ahead for him in treatments alone. Pray for him. His name is Clarence Cox. Grandma's name is Norma.
Thanks again for your love and prayers. God truly loves us through His people.
God Bless,
Warren
I hate to add to your prayer list, but I recently learned that my grandfather has small cell cancer on his lungs. It is a ridiculously fast growing cancer and the mass in the middle of his chest is pretty big. He is 85 and we all wonder how strong he is to fight this disease. The doc says that he may have between 9 to 12 months with chemotherapy.
He has had cancer in his lungs before years ago and they removed the lobe that it was in and he has lived a very good life since. This is a different strand of cancer and the treatments are harsh so I'm heavy hearted for him knowing what lies ahead for him in treatments alone. Pray for him. His name is Clarence Cox. Grandma's name is Norma.
Thanks again for your love and prayers. God truly loves us through His people.
God Bless,
Warren
Friday, September 7, 2007
And Life just keeps moving...
Warren had another treatment today and it has really hit him hard. He was home only about an hour when everything went downhill. This has been the hardest of this treatment. He is closed off in our room and every so often one of the kids sneeks in to pat him on the head and give love. :) It is hard to keep everyone somewhat quiet when he is so sick, but we will be moving soon and will have much more room to release some of that afterschool energy. I am homeschooling Maddie this year (she is in 2nd grade) and Chloe is in the Christian school in kindergarten. We wil be excited to move to our other house soon as there will be a room for school. There is always a bittersweet spirit when school starts. I like having them all home, but I also like the schedule. Please keep Warren in your prayers over the next few days for relief from the side affects. We thank you for your prayers and responces it is so uplifting and ecncouraging.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Treatment update
I just wanted to update you all on my treatments. I've had one and by tomorrow I will have had another. I'm back to having numb feet and fingers and an acute sensitivity to touching cold things and drinking cold beverages. But that's okay. It certainly beats the alternative that I was headed toward about a week ago.
So far the pain has gone away, my appetite is back and I've gained a couple of pounds. I'm still working on my labored breathing, lack of energy and being so tired, but all in good time. At least now I'm feeling better and there is no pain. It's a blessing to be able to see my doctor every day and have him check my progress.
Tana and I want to thank all of you who have responded by way of blog, e-mail and cards in the mail. It has been such an encouragement and it means so much to know that there are so many people praying for us. We pray that you will all continue to intercede on our behalf and help us work through this trial. Pray for me tomorrow 8/24 and on every other Friday after that (2 Fridays/month with a week off in between). Those are my treatment days and I feel especially yucky on those days. Thanks again for your prayers. We'll update again soon when we find out more.
God Bless,
Warren and Tana
So far the pain has gone away, my appetite is back and I've gained a couple of pounds. I'm still working on my labored breathing, lack of energy and being so tired, but all in good time. At least now I'm feeling better and there is no pain. It's a blessing to be able to see my doctor every day and have him check my progress.
Tana and I want to thank all of you who have responded by way of blog, e-mail and cards in the mail. It has been such an encouragement and it means so much to know that there are so many people praying for us. We pray that you will all continue to intercede on our behalf and help us work through this trial. Pray for me tomorrow 8/24 and on every other Friday after that (2 Fridays/month with a week off in between). Those are my treatment days and I feel especially yucky on those days. Thanks again for your prayers. We'll update again soon when we find out more.
God Bless,
Warren and Tana
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Scan results not good
As you may know, we had the CT scan done earlier than expected because the doc saw some symptoms that he didn't like. Well, thank God he felt led to do so because he found some bad news that needs addressed ASAP.
Today the doc told me that the scan revealed that the cancer in the lungs has begun to grow again. It has become very active and that is why my chest has felt so heavy, my breathing is labored, appetite has dwindled and I'm so very tired. He also told me that my cancer marker has gone from 3.8 to 55. That is only 1 point away from being triple the amount last year when we started therapy.The pain has subsided and has become less of a factor. The tumors on the liver seem to have remained stable and that is a praise.
The plan is to return to the medicines and chemotherapy that he used last year to stop the spread of the cancer. It was very effective last time and we hope that it will be again. The regimens are different, but the medicines are the same. Instead of having the chemotherapy for 3 days and going home on a chemotherapy pump I will be treated every Friday with no pump (praise the Lord) and will also remain on the chemotherapy pills that I have been on for the last 6 weeks. If you have any questions about this please feel free to contact us. We want you to know how to pray, so please, ask away. E-mail us at wtbroke@juno.com and we can go from there.
Please be in prayer for us. I've been begging God to stir the hearts of the saints to be in intercessory prayer for us. We of course want healing, but we also need grace hourly and we want to be sure that those around us see Christ in us. Sometimes it just sounds like the right thing to say and the proper attitude to have, but I have learned that If Christ is not seen in us and glorified then both me and my family have suffered in vain. I do not want to come to the end of this battle and, win or lose, find that I have absolutely nothing to show for it in eternity. God help us!
Tomorrow I'm going to wake up, put my feet on the floor, thank God for the day and then get busy living it to the praise of His glory. Help us and love us through your prayers.
God bless you all!
Today the doc told me that the scan revealed that the cancer in the lungs has begun to grow again. It has become very active and that is why my chest has felt so heavy, my breathing is labored, appetite has dwindled and I'm so very tired. He also told me that my cancer marker has gone from 3.8 to 55. That is only 1 point away from being triple the amount last year when we started therapy.The pain has subsided and has become less of a factor. The tumors on the liver seem to have remained stable and that is a praise.
The plan is to return to the medicines and chemotherapy that he used last year to stop the spread of the cancer. It was very effective last time and we hope that it will be again. The regimens are different, but the medicines are the same. Instead of having the chemotherapy for 3 days and going home on a chemotherapy pump I will be treated every Friday with no pump (praise the Lord) and will also remain on the chemotherapy pills that I have been on for the last 6 weeks. If you have any questions about this please feel free to contact us. We want you to know how to pray, so please, ask away. E-mail us at wtbroke@juno.com and we can go from there.
Please be in prayer for us. I've been begging God to stir the hearts of the saints to be in intercessory prayer for us. We of course want healing, but we also need grace hourly and we want to be sure that those around us see Christ in us. Sometimes it just sounds like the right thing to say and the proper attitude to have, but I have learned that If Christ is not seen in us and glorified then both me and my family have suffered in vain. I do not want to come to the end of this battle and, win or lose, find that I have absolutely nothing to show for it in eternity. God help us!
Tomorrow I'm going to wake up, put my feet on the floor, thank God for the day and then get busy living it to the praise of His glory. Help us and love us through your prayers.
God bless you all!
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Scan date moved
I have been experiencing some heaviness in my chest area. It has been there for a few weeks but I thought nothing of it. I thought maybe it was allergies or something. When doc Huh found out about it he rushed the scan to tomorrow 8/2/07 at 1:00p.m.
A couple of things could be happening: blood clots in the lungs due to treatments or progression of the cancer. On the other hand it could be nothing. He is just making sure. Be in earnest prayer through the night. I'll post the results as soon as he is able to give tell me.
Thanks for all of your prayers and responses.
A couple of things could be happening: blood clots in the lungs due to treatments or progression of the cancer. On the other hand it could be nothing. He is just making sure. Be in earnest prayer through the night. I'll post the results as soon as he is able to give tell me.
Thanks for all of your prayers and responses.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Dr. visit results,
Hey all!
Tana and I saw the doc Wednesday. It was a good visit. He checked my liver and thought it felt okay, my breathing is getting better and he gave me some drugs to manage the pain. So things are getting better as far as the symptoms are concerned.
I am scheduled to have a CT scan on August 10th and another office visit on August 15th. He is going to scan more of my body than he did last time. He didn't really say why, but I would guess that he is making sure that nothing has popped up somewhere else since the cancer has reactivated.
He also wants to continue on with the Chemotherapy pills for a couple more months just to give them a chance to work. He gave no indication as to where my cancer marker is right now, which is fine with me. It doesn't really matter if it is high (which is bad) or low. There is nothing I can do to change it by worrying about it, so if I don't know then I won't worry. The cancer marker fluctuates up and down so much that it can become an emotional roller coaster. Tana and I are learning to ignore those types of things until they become serious and have to be addressed.
So pray for the upcoming scan and visit. Thanks for all of your prayers. Thanks for responding on the blog. It is very encouraging to hear from you all.
God bless,
The Brokerings
Tana and I saw the doc Wednesday. It was a good visit. He checked my liver and thought it felt okay, my breathing is getting better and he gave me some drugs to manage the pain. So things are getting better as far as the symptoms are concerned.
I am scheduled to have a CT scan on August 10th and another office visit on August 15th. He is going to scan more of my body than he did last time. He didn't really say why, but I would guess that he is making sure that nothing has popped up somewhere else since the cancer has reactivated.
He also wants to continue on with the Chemotherapy pills for a couple more months just to give them a chance to work. He gave no indication as to where my cancer marker is right now, which is fine with me. It doesn't really matter if it is high (which is bad) or low. There is nothing I can do to change it by worrying about it, so if I don't know then I won't worry. The cancer marker fluctuates up and down so much that it can become an emotional roller coaster. Tana and I are learning to ignore those types of things until they become serious and have to be addressed.
So pray for the upcoming scan and visit. Thanks for all of your prayers. Thanks for responding on the blog. It is very encouraging to hear from you all.
God bless,
The Brokerings
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Thanks to all of you who have responded and are praying. An update on the new chemotherapy. It has been 12 days on the new pill chemotherapy and it has been a very mild reaction so far. They say that some reactions won't come until later, but for now all is well. Nothing like the other kind of chemotherapy that goes through the port. So far so good.
Pray that the symptoms of the cancer will begin to subside soon. Pain and shortness of breath are the worst. It slows me down a bit.
To my anonymous responder, "I want to be an Airborne Ranger".
Have a nice day and say "NO!" to drugs.
Pray that the symptoms of the cancer will begin to subside soon. Pain and shortness of breath are the worst. It slows me down a bit.
To my anonymous responder, "I want to be an Airborne Ranger".
Have a nice day and say "NO!" to drugs.
Thursday, June 28, 2007
An update as promised. We got the results of the CT scan and it was a mixed bag. The doctor tells us that there is no change in the cancer since last year. The good news is that it still has not spread any further or grown any larger either. We can thank the Lord for holding the cancer in check and giving me a quality of life this past year.
I will be starting a new chemotherapy this weekend to attack the cancer in a different way. It will be in form of a pill this time and I will take it 2 times/day for 2 weeks and then be off a week and then back on for 2. It will rotate like that until something happens. There are not as many side affects to deal with but the ones that do come are difficult to overcome if we don't stay on top of them. Pray that we can stay on top of them.
In case some of you don't know the details of the cancer I'll fill you in and you will know how to pray. I have colon cancer that has spread to the liver and lungs. The primary tumor in the colon (the tumor from which it all has spread from) has been removed and they are trying to kill the rest with chemotherapy. The liver has some small tumors on one lobe and a huge one on the other. It is the size of a 3x5 card and it is a very formidable tumor to fight against. As far as the lungs are concerned they have spots across the plains of both and as the CT scan states "there are too many to count". With this information you can see that this battle is in the Lord's hands so we ask that you pray earnestly with us that God would do what man cannot and touch me with His healing power.
I want to thank all of you who leave messages to encourage us. It really does mean the world to us to know that there are people out there who are concerned and praying on our behalf. It makes us feel as if we are not alone in this world as we take on this new assignment from the Lord. We are also powerfully impacted by your prayers from one day to the next. Thanks for praying. Keep it up and we'll fight this battle together and praise God for the victory when it's over. God bless you all!
I will be starting a new chemotherapy this weekend to attack the cancer in a different way. It will be in form of a pill this time and I will take it 2 times/day for 2 weeks and then be off a week and then back on for 2. It will rotate like that until something happens. There are not as many side affects to deal with but the ones that do come are difficult to overcome if we don't stay on top of them. Pray that we can stay on top of them.
In case some of you don't know the details of the cancer I'll fill you in and you will know how to pray. I have colon cancer that has spread to the liver and lungs. The primary tumor in the colon (the tumor from which it all has spread from) has been removed and they are trying to kill the rest with chemotherapy. The liver has some small tumors on one lobe and a huge one on the other. It is the size of a 3x5 card and it is a very formidable tumor to fight against. As far as the lungs are concerned they have spots across the plains of both and as the CT scan states "there are too many to count". With this information you can see that this battle is in the Lord's hands so we ask that you pray earnestly with us that God would do what man cannot and touch me with His healing power.
I want to thank all of you who leave messages to encourage us. It really does mean the world to us to know that there are people out there who are concerned and praying on our behalf. It makes us feel as if we are not alone in this world as we take on this new assignment from the Lord. We are also powerfully impacted by your prayers from one day to the next. Thanks for praying. Keep it up and we'll fight this battle together and praise God for the victory when it's over. God bless you all!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Prayer Request
News that the cancer marker has began to rise again. This last regimen took the marker from 13 all the way down to 3.8. Last week the doctor told us that the treatments have lost effectiveness and the marker has began to climb again and as of last week it had gone back up to 9.3.
We have a CT scan Wednesday 6/20 and next week 6/27 we will get the results and go from there. Please pray that these recent treatments did a lot of damage to the tumors on the liver before it lost its effectiveness.
We have been praying that God would stir the hearts of the saints to be praying earnestly concerning our healing. We pray that God would do something so unusual that the doctor wouldn't be able to medically explain such positive results.
Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement. God bless.
We have a CT scan Wednesday 6/20 and next week 6/27 we will get the results and go from there. Please pray that these recent treatments did a lot of damage to the tumors on the liver before it lost its effectiveness.
We have been praying that God would stir the hearts of the saints to be praying earnestly concerning our healing. We pray that God would do something so unusual that the doctor wouldn't be able to medically explain such positive results.
Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement. God bless.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Hello!
Hello Everyone! We have had many people asking how Warren is doing and we thought this would be the best way to keep people updated. Please keep us in your prayers and we look forward to hearing from you!
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