Update for March 24th

I know that an update has been long over due so please accept my apology. As you know I have taken the month of March off from Chemo treatments. It has been wonderful not to have to go into MSTI every other week. I have really enjoyed the time off. As of right now I have a PET scan scheduled for April 2nd. Once I have that done I will meet with the doctor to go over the results. That is scheduled for April 6th. We will decide how to proceed from the test results.So please start praying for good test results. I am still having alot of pain in my shouder area. It makes it hard to sleep at night. Dr. Smith said it may take over a year for the bone where we did the radiation to heal itself.

I started taking a new alternative drug last week, its called Naltrexone. If you have some time you can read about it at www.lowdosenaltrexone.org

I hope everything is going well with everybody. I know that Spring Break is going on in several places. I hope that it will be time well spent with family.

God Bless you all

Have a great Spring Break

Update for March 3rd

On Tuesday Linda and I went to MSTI Nampa to get back on the chemo treatments. I have been going in to MSTI every week day for radiation for the past 2 months now. I think Dr Fiorentino could see that I was tried of coming in, so he suggested that I take some time off. I quickly agreed (while jumping up and down inside) for some extra time off. So I will be doing no chemo for the month of March. We went ahead and scheduled a PET/CT Scan for April 2nd and then a follow up with Dr Fiorentino on April 6th. This way we can see where things are at and which direction to go.

I am looking forward to the time off of chemo and will be doing more vitamin C IV's in March, in fact I will have one tomorrow afternoon. This way I can get myself built back up and ready to go if needed. Looking back over the year, I had a brain tumor removed in January 09 then radiation to my head for several weeks. Then chemo since April of 09 through Dec of 09. Then it was more radiation for two months which brings us up to today. Now you know why I'm looking forward to a little time off.

Pray for Linda and I during this time to rejuvenate and get some much needed rest. We will probably head to the cabin sometime soon. It's the ultimate place to go and rest.

We Love You All,

God Bless you

Doug

Update for February 24th

Time to update the blog.

I just returned from my 12th radiation to the back of my ear lobe, only 2 more to go. I will finish radiation on Friday. Everything has been going good except for some redness around the area we are radiating. I have a cream for that. Everything else seems to be going according to plans. I will probably start back on the chemo treatments starting next Tuesday, at least that's when it is scheduled. I have been feeling pretty good lately but I haven't had any chemo since Jan. 5th so I am assuming that's the reason for feeling better.

I don't know about you but I sure am ready for some nicer (spring) weather. Hope everyone is doing well and making the most of life. We only go around once and it seems to go by so quickly. Take every opportunity to tell those loved ones in your life that you really love them. It's very important that they hear it from you.

Once again thank you for praying for Linda and I. You will never know how much it means to us. Life's journey has some rocks and curves in the way but with your prayers we are managing pretty well.

We love you all

God Bless

"And whatever you do or say, do it as a Representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father." Colossians 3:17

Servants Heart

Servants Heart

By Jim Cole

Another rainy Monday morning

I'm in a hurry once again

A beggar held a sign

With trembling hands

I tried not to notice him

It's not that I don't have compassion

It's just that I don't understand

How can I really make a difference to

An ordinary man

Lord give us your heart

That we might serve others

No one can survive all by themselves

The love that we share

Along the way

Might be the very love

We'll need someday

My brother called me

Just the other day

We hadn't spoken for awhile

I longed to say the words

I love you

But I did not know how

I've heard it said

That life's a journey

A road where time will slip away

And no one's guaranteed tomorrow

For what needs said today

Lord give us your heart

That we might serve others

No one can survive all by themselves

The love that we share

Along the way

Might be the very love

We'll need someday

Update for February 10th

I just got done with my second radiation treatment to the lymph node behind my left ear. So far so good. I am still taking pain meds to keep the pain down until the tumor shrinks and the pain goes away, which I hope won't be too long. The count down has already began, 2 down and 12 to go. The worst part is having to wear that full mask that is strapped to the table.

I am so blessed to have all of you praying for me. I pray that God will show you just how much He loves you, and how that love drove His Son Jesus to the cross, to take upon himself our sin.

Romans 5:10 "For while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."

Romans 5:1 "Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." Thank you Lord.

Update for Febuary 6th

More Radiation! Let me explain. Last Thursday I finished up the radiation to my rib area. That night I begin to have a lot of pain from the tumor behind my left ear. The pain was constant and would not go away. I went in on Tuesday to see about receiving my Chemo treatment and talk about all this pain I was having. We have decided to radiate this new area behind my left ear to get rid of the pain. Since Dr. Smith the radiation oncologist in Nampa was gone for the week they sent me downtown to MSTI Boise to see a Dr Dorn so we can get the ball rolling faster. Then today (Wednesday) I went in to MSTI Nampa to do the mapping for the treatment. I will again have to wear the same mask from when I did radiation treatment to my head last year. We talked about doing 14 treatments but that could always change. Once again I will put the chemo treatments on hold while I do the radiation which will probably start on Monday the 8th.

Please pray everything will go good with these new radiation treatments. I don't know what kind of side effects I am going to have. Please pray that they will be minimal.

God bless you all for your constant and continual prayers.

Update for January 27th

Just one more radiation treatment to go. I just finished my 13th treatment and will complete things tomorrow. I will have received 14 radiation treatments as of tomorrow. Dr. Smith said that the radiation would continue to react for several months even after the last treatment. He would like to do a follow up in late March after I have had another PET/CT Scan. We really will not know how successful the treatments were until then. So next week (Tuesday) it's back to the Chemo treatments again.

I also went yesterday (Tuesday) and got another vitamin C IV. This time I took it a lot slower so I wouldn't get sick. Instead of 30 minutes it took 2 1/2 hours. I did not have the reaction that I did last time so that was good.

It was one year ago today, January 27, 2009 that I went in the hospital for brain surgery. It doesn't seem possible that it has been a year already. The Lord has done some amazing things over the last year and I am so grateful to still be alive right now.

Well that's about it for this update. I hope everything is going good with everyone. We are about to finish off the first month of the new year and it has gone by real fast. There are so many things going on around the world that point to the soon return of Jesus Christ that we need to be aware of Biblical Prophecy and where we are in these end times. Jesus is coming soon and we want to be ready.

We love you all and ask that you continue to pray for Linda and I.

We are "looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ who gave Himself for us...." Titus 2:13