OUR NEW HOME!!

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

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.

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

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

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.

FLORIDA