Welcome to our CaringBridge website. We are using it to keep family and friends updated in one place. We appreciate your support and words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for visiting.
In November, 2022, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer–a complete shock! I was able to have my right kidney removed and the surgeon said, "We got it all - your margins are clear.. .see you next year." I recovered and became the healthiest I had been in thirty years. Life moved on. However, on April 2, 2023 during a painful visit to the ER, a mass was found and subsequently, I was diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic cancer. This is a rare (PRCC, Type 2) and aggressive kidney cancer which cannot be cured. My oncology doctor said I have about 28 months to live.
Here is what I've learned so far on this journey:
I trust in medical advances and the technologies many have developed over the years and the medical community to implement them. While I don't believe doctors have the final say in my prognosis, I do trust their ability to help me deal with this cancer that is in my body. Please pray for new treatments to emerge soon.
I believe in my body's ability to respond through keeping a positive and hopeful mindset during this challenging time. Many cancer survivors (in my family and others) and doctors have emphasized this over and over. Don't give up! Stay hopeful! Remain positive!
The brain can do amazing repair work. I have a daily "Theology of Hope" that I've developed. It is 15 verses from Scripture on healing, restoration, and peace. Each morning I read, meditate on, sometimes weep over, and speak to God about these verses. It is a challenge for me to stay in this fight to believe – please pray for this.
I am also reading books such as: All Things New: Heaven, Earth and the Restoration of Everything You Love, by John Eldredge The Anatomy of Hope: How People Prevail in the Face of Illness, by Dr. Jerome Groopman Heaven: A Comprehensive Guide to Everything the Bible Says About Our Eternal Home, by Randy Alcorn
They are proving to be quite helpful on this journey. Check them out!
My ultimate hope however lies in God and in His providence. We all die at some point and heaven awaits. God has numbered our days. God also listened to Hezekiah's prayers, saw his tears, and graciously granted him 15 more years of life. He does both.
Jesus is now and will always be my salvation. Not my discipleship, not my work in the kingdom, not my good (or bad) deeds, but Jesus and him alone. What Jesus did for me on the cross is my hope – whether in two years or twenty years. He is my hope and I rest in him.
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