Update #30

Dear all,

  A couple weeks ago, Rob had another CT scan to check out how things are going. Dr Wong was happy to tell us that the tumour is still shrinking. We of course were pretty excited to hear that, since it had been since December of last year that we had last heard anything. Dr. Wong was so positive with how it was going that he decided it was time to mention it to the surgeon again to see if maybe the tumour was shrunk small enough for a chance to completely remove it. Dr. Wong did say that he wasn't totally sure with what she'd say, but it was worth a try.
  So today we had an appointment with Dr. Wirtzfeld, the surgeon who we had seen last September. She took her time reviewing the scan and Rob's current physical condition(which is excellent by the way) and decided that surgery is still a no go. Rob and I actually did expect this. Of course we're disappointed, but felt it was maybe a bit unrealistic to get our hopes up too much while we still know that there is a large mass inside.
   Dr. Wirtzfeld explained to us that while the tumour IS shrinking, it still needs to shrink away from some of the more vital body parts (kidneys, spine & tissue surrounding the spine, etc) before it would be viable to do the surgery. It has pulled away somewhat from the right kidney, but it still quite entangled with the left kidney and the more major muscles/nerves to do with the spine, etc. From the way she spoke, they have no problem with removing a kidney, major blood vessels (replacing those with artifcial blood vessels), but there is just no way they can touch the area around the spine. And they won't consider going in to remove the mass until they are entirely sure they will get ALL of the tissue. The doctors are all still so surprised how Rob is doing, they can't believe he is in no pain and has no symptoms of anything. We are so happy with how Rob is doing, and it feels the doctors are okay to just let things be (since it is heading in the right direction, i.e. shrinking tumour) instead of risking such a major surgery right now.
   So the plan is to just keep living our lives, keeping up with CT scans every 3 months, until hopefully in the near future the surgeons will decide that it has shrunk enough to remove the mass. Some people ask if they would consider just to leave the mass alone since Rob is doing so well but the doctors and us feel we really want it out, a lot of the reasoning is to do with the fact that re-occurrence would be higher if the mass is left inside.
   In the meantime, we have felt a lot of normalcy return to our lives in the last couple weeks. Rob had his first full week of work last week! Woo-hoo! I've started part time again as well. Man, there isn't a better feeling for both of us! We are so thankful where things are at, God has certainly answered our prayers in this too. After a year and a half of being off work, fighting cancer and the multitude of other issues that come with this, we can do nothing now but express our thanksgiving and give our Heavenly Father all the praise.

Psalm 89:1 - I will sing of the LORD's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations.
 

Update #29

Hello all, 

Its been a while since the last post on here. Everything has been going so well, Robs health is definitely on the up and up. We have known ever since he was first diagnosed (1 year and almost 5 months ago, can you believe it has been that long?!) that he would need to have surgery to remove some/all of the cancer, and it hasn't been until this point that that a surgery finally happened. Like we heard back in August, the mass in his retroperitoneal cavity (stomach) that is slowly shrinking is still not an option to surgically remove because it is still wrapped around different organs. We pray that it will continue to shrink, so that surgery for that may happen in the future. The doctors haven't even dared to guesstimate a time for that; it will be a unbelievable moment when the time comes for that.

The surgery that happened this past Monday was something that the doctors have planned since day one, but didn't seem to be a big deal until a lot of Rob's other health issues were resolved. Because it still showed to be cancerous, Rob underwent a left Inguinal Orchiectomy and Kidney stent exchange, which altogether sounds super fancy, but was just a day surgery. We're thankful to say it all went well and as expected. Rob will likely take the next number of weeks to recuperate, but we are both very glad to have that behind us now. We are both eagerly looking forward to starting/finding work and resuming that part of 'normal' life! There are obviously more scans/appointments ahead of us, but we are so thankful to our heavenly Father to be at this point in our lives. 

Update #28

Good evening and hello all,

Felicia and myself met with Dr. Wong this morning to discuss the results of the CT scan that I had last week Monday. If you recall the last visit we had with him you may well remember that he (that is Dr. Wong) told us that the mass in my abdomen might possible be dead cancer or scar tissue and now this scan showed that is indeed the case. Dr. Wong said “it looks to be residual garbage or tissue” that is left over from the cancer I had. This last scan showed that the mass is still shrinking and that all my affected organs look to be normal size. At one point Dr. Wong would still like to see that mass removed so I will be getting CT scans every three months until the surgeons think I can have the surgery without it being life threatening or affecting any organs. Dr. Wong has come to the conclusion that the mass must be “residual tissue” because the mass is still shrinking on its own without treatment and because I am physically doing so well. Dr. Wong hardly recognized me and the nurses we met up with only knew who I was because they saw Felicia. In the next little while though I will be referred back to Dr. Bard to have a different surgery to remove the testicle where the cancer originated from because that is still cancerous.

 This is better news then we could have ever hoped for and though we still have some things to get through and possibly some surgeries yet we are so very much thankful and happy about all this. We thank our heavenly Father that He has so richly blessed us! The doctors can try and take the credit and can say that it is what they did through their knowledge and the chemo they prescribed but in the end we know that our Father has granted this and that He has answered all of yours and our prayers in the way that we had asked.  So let us remember to thank Him for all of this and also ask for continued healing and strength.

Rob and Felicia 

Update #27

Dear all, it has been pretty much exactly 4 months since Robs last chemo treatment and we have totally enjoyed the break from all the doctors appointments! Rob has steadily been doing better healthwise and we can almost say back to his old self. :) Now has come the time to have another test and see where things are at. Rob had a CT scan yesterday and we are eagerly awaiting results mid next week! Please pray for Robs health that the scan results may show positive news. Thank you ever so much.

Update #26

Good evening all,

I can’t speak for the parts of the family living in other parts of the country or continent but here in Manitoba we had a beautiful pre-fall/almost end of summer day. It definitely feels like fall is on the way though. Anyway, I’m sure you all know that we met with Dr. Wong today to get and discuss the results of the PET scan I had on Friday. I think most of you have heard the news in some form or shape by now but we figured we should just send out an email anyway. I’ll try keep to what the good doctor told us, it won’t be a verbatim quote but here it is: Basically with the type of cancer I have or that it has grown into it “lights up a PET scan like a Christmas tree” but my PET scan didn’t show that. Where the cancer originated it shows up really good on the scan but the tumor in my abdomen doesn’t show what he expected, “I thought I would see something much worse than this.” He really doesn’t know what is going on inside of me, “when he looks at my CT scans he sees a very large tumor and that doesn’t look good at but then he looks at my “clinical presentation” (how well I look and feel and how well I am doing) and that just doesn’t fit with he would expect looking at my scan so he “somehow has to put the two together.” He is not sure where to go from here simply for the fact that he really doesn’t know if the tumor is cancerous or not. So his plan for now is do nothing at all until December and then have a CT scan, see where things are at then and go from there. We asked him to clarify what nothing meant and by nothing he means no chemo till after the CT scan. If the CT scan in December shows that the tumor has grown chemo will most likely be the way to go again. If it shows the tumor is still the same size as the last CT I had in July another scan will probably be scheduled for in another three months and the same also for if the tumor has shrunk. Also, if it is about the same size or shrunk, the doctors will most likely look at removing the original tumor. As you can see/read, there is so much to be thankful for. Dr Wong said today “you were desperately sick when I first saw, I didn’t think you make it but now you are doing so much better” God has been so good to us, He has granted so much, he has given me more days on this earth then I thought I would have. There are times when I thought I was not going to be able to celebrate our 2^nd wedding anniversary together with my wife but he was granted that. There was days that the doctors told Felicia and family that I might not pull through, days that I don’t and can’t remember. There was nights in the hospital when I would wake up struggling for every breath and praying to God that I would make it through the night. So thanks be to God and Him alone that I am where I now am! I am not out of the woods yet, the doctors can’t and won’t make any promises, there are many unknowns and as Dr. Wong agreed with today, “this is now a wait and see game.” We know though that God does know what is going on and what the future holds for Felicia and myself and we also know and confess that God hears and uses the prayers of His people so we ask you all to continue to pray with us and for us that God may continue to use the doctors and whatever other means He so desires to heal me. We don’t know what God’s full purpose is in all of this but we pray that He will accomplish His plan through my sickness. We do know that God has drawn us closer to Him in all of this and that He has made us realize our complete dependency on Him and that no matter what He is bringing glory to His name and that He is furthering His kingdom.

Rob and Felicia