This cancer update is one that is very much a pleasure to report. I (Wayne) completed my chemotherapy on December 8. This is the same chemo that I started on November 14, 2007. For over a year I have had a twice-daily routine of taking drugs that are designed to destroy any remaining cancer cells in my body. For a man who has never really been sick in his life, this year of chemo was a major physical challenge. I had pain everywhere, but especially in my hands and feet. And then there were the digestive problems. I'll spare you the details, other than to say that I lost nearly 60 pounds during those many months of chemo. It is very easy to loose weight when everything you eat leaves you at the most unexpected times and in the most undesirable ways.
Yes, it was a very difficult year. However, I did not walk through this challenging year alone. The Lord walked with me through the challenges that each dose of chemo brought to my body. With the exception of the times every six weeks when I was scheduled for a visit to the cancer center, I was able to travel all over the world while taking my chemo with me. You see, this chemo was not the traditional IV in the arm or chest kind of chemo. I was on two drugs that came in pill form. I took one drug every morning and every evening for the entire six-week cycle. The other drug was only taken in the morning and only for the first four weeks of the cycle. There were nine cycles in all. Because the chemo was in pill form, I could take it with me anywhere I traveled. And the Lord enabled lots of travel during this year of treatment. I've taken chemo in the cold of Siberia in central Russia, and in the warm summer sunshine of Saint Petersburg Russia. I've carried my chemo with me to Brazil and Haiti, to Kenya and eastern Europe, to Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands. Me and my chemo have been on nearly ever continent on the face of the earth this past year. It wasn't always easy, but the Lord was always there with me to see me through any challenges.
Oh, but now it is all over. Within a few days of completing the chemo, I was no longer getting sick. I could eat a meal and not worry about how much time I had before I would be sick. Within a week I had put back on 10 pounds of the weight that I lost. I'm taking up running and bicycling to try to stop that trend.
It has now been nearly three weeks since the end of chemo. I'm feeling great! No more pain in my feet, no more pain in my hands, no more sickness. I feel stronger than ever and I'm planning to tackle some tasks that would have been unthinkable just a few months ago. Lord willing, I will run in a 15k race in Jacksonville in March with Amanda and some of her friends. Lord willing, I will travel to Haiti to hike a mountain with a very dear missionary friend. Lord willing, I will take a week or two before itineration starts and hike a section of the Appalachian Trail. And Lord willing, I will go back to riding my bicycle between 50 and 100 miles each week.
The Lord has given me a new opportunity at good health so that I can continue being effective in my ministry. I plan to do all I can to remain healthy and effective for Him. My final chemo-related visit to the cancer center is on January 12. There is one last CT scan and one last heart scan (called a MUGA) and one last check-up and last set of lab work that I have to complete for this final visit. Then, when the all-clear is given, I will simply need to come back for a CT scan and physical once each year for about 10 years. My doctor tells me that if I make it past the two-year point (coming up in August 2009), it is highly unusual of my type of cancer to ever return. Please join with us in prayer for a great report from the cancer center on January 12. And thank you for all your prayers that have seen me to this point.
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