Update 4/10/2015 - POST-Surgery Update

All, well, another surgery is in the past. We went in early this morning anticipating to spend the night at the hospital…. And the surgery only took 90 minutes instead of 3 hours!  And there was no need to spend the night. We were back home by 1pm and then took a 7 hour nap! Definitely different than last year. And we certainly thank the LORD for that and for all of your praying. There is not much pain so far, 18 stitches, have a huge wrap around the surgical site (and my head) and one drain tube coming out of the top (gained a little horn…). 

Now to mend and heal. Sounds like there may be one or two more surgeries in our future but no details at this time. We will keep you posted… thanks again for all your encouraging thoughts and prayers!

Steve &  Sandy 

Psalm 119:111, “Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.”

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Update 4/08/2015 - Surgery Update

All, it is now confirmed my “flap debulking” surgery is scheduled for this Friday (April 10^th) at 7:30am. From what I am told it should be about a 3 hour operation and a one night stay in the hospital. By referral of my flap surgeon, I met with a Facial Reconstruction surgeon this week (not sure why I would need him J ) that will help with some future surgeries with my nose and other features. 

It will be interesting to see how all this turns out when complete. But we are so thankful and blessed to have so many praying and supporting us through this journey that God has so graciously protected us through. We will give another update on the other side of the gourmet stay at UC Hospital.

Steve &  Sandy 

Psalm 142:5, “I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living”. 

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Update 3/24/2015 - Clear for Take Off

All, just wanted to drop a note to say thank you again for praying for us. Friday I had my first scan since my surgery last Feb. In fact it was a PET scan from the thigh to top of head.  The purpose was to see if there is any cancer in my face, especially under the free flap (surgical site). If there would be any cancer then they would not do the second surgery.  If you remember after the surgery the pathology report showed no cancer in all areas except for one spot in the left sinus where the tumor was removed. That is why the doctors were pushing for radiation, to finish the job. But when researching the pros and cons of doing radiation the potential damage did not warrant the tiny benefit to be realized, especially when there was not a lot of history on these types of tumor/surgeries.

 

Then yesterday I met with the flap surgeon (his actual title is an Otolaryngologist but I like to keep things simple. Plus I can’t pronounce it.) to review the results. THE RESULTS WERE CLEAR! No detectable cancer anywhere on the scan! I am sure he was surprised because I elected to not do radiation and/or chemo after surgery. So, the alternative protocols I have been doing for 2 years have been effective. I really thank the LORD for all the people (doctors (medical and naturopathic), researchers, friends, websites, cancer forums, etc) that have contributed to the overwhelming knowledgebase in regard to this battle.

 

SO, I am scheduled to have the follow up surgery April 10. It is for “debulking the free flap.” It’s taking me awhile but I’ll get those glamour shots done some time. I still feel fine, am able to work, eat, walk, talk, drink, pray, worship, and give Sandy grief…. I am definitely on borrowed time (actually, aren’t we all?). thank you again from the bottom of my heart for everyone’s concern and prayers on our behalf! We are truly blessed!

Steve &  Sandy 

2 Corinthians 7:11, “….In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter.”

Update 2/16/2015 - this time last year

Well, this time last year we were picking out funeral songs! Since we skipped the funeral you can listen to one of the songs with the link below. It was the day before my “heroic” surgery, as one oncologist described it. February 17, a year ago – I am definitely on bonus time! Although the Lord knew I would be around today to write this email. I am very thankful to Him for granting me life, eternal life, and all the blessings that come along with that. Many which are praying friends and family. Many of you still come up to me and let me know you are praying, which I am grateful!

The Lord God has given us an interesting journey to say the least, one of which is not over yet. He has been so faithful to provide all that we need in so many ways. If we had an hour here to share just some of those provisions you would, like us, just shake your head and marvel of how great God is! We still wonder why He would choose us to demonstrate His goodness. Wow. So, we are very thankful to say the least.

So the challenge before us this year is to do the follow up surgery which reshapes the flap from the original surgery and make my surgery side look more like my other side (there’s a scary thought!). I have been told by the doctors there is no way to have a prosthetic eye since there is no “socket” to hold one. Plan B is to have an eye tattooed on. That should be interesting. I’ll send a picture when that becomes a reality.

I was tested a few weeks ago to find that my immune system and liver are still compromised which is baffling knowing all the alternative treatments I have been doing over the past 2 years. I am better for sure but not well yet. so, recently I have tweaked my protocol somewhat to address this issue. In the meantime, I am able to drive, work full time, eat, drink, pray, worship, enjoy family and friends and all that good stuff. I just do it with one eye and a weird face.  But you just wait till I get my tattoo eye…

Thank you again for praying for my healing! Love you all….

Song - “No More Night” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iPIi7sunEU   - AMEN!

Steve & Sandy

Psalm 28:7 “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.”

from Steve | onward and forward...

It is hard to believe it has been a little over a month since my last update and many of you have expressed that you have still been praying for Sandy and I. Thank you very much! It is so encouraging. There is still much healing to be accomplished and here is where we are at this time:

-          Last week I did get my customized glasses (well, one side of a pair of glasses, a modern monocle?). It is great to see detail at a distance again!

-          The free flap is shrinking slowly with the intentions that 80% of it will shrink away because most of it is muscle. And with no nerves to stimulate the muscle tissue it will atrophy and shrink but leave enough mass for a later cosmetic surgery. Other surgery sites are healing, but slower than I prefer (imagine that).

-          After meeting with the local oncologist once and the radiologist twice and consulting with a naturopathic doctor in Kenya and another oncologist in Mexico, and doing hours and hours of research we have chosen to wait to do any conventional radiation or chemotherapy treatments. As you might remember from a previous update we were told from the post-surgery pathology report I was clear of any detectable cancer in my bones, nerves, brain, and the margin surrounding the tumor EXCEPT for one small spot in the upper sinus area. Because of the potential damage that would be created by the radiation and chemo it did not seem worth it for the little benefit I would gain (reducing my reoccurrence rate by only 20%). We are choosing other options to eradicate any remaining cancer cells that have a higher success rate with no side effects. We feel very good about this choice. So this is the path we are on and praying like crazy that God will make it very effective and we gain the healing that is much needed.

-          I am driving again (all the kids say woo hoo!) and working two part time jobs also. I am so thankful to be productive again. It is definitely harder to mow grass with one eye – try it – with the loss of some depth perception it is hard to see when things are lined up right – hey, but it is great to have that problem because that means at least two things: 1) I’m alive to struggle with the change, and 2) I can see something at all! Aren’t we blessed more than we deserve? The Lord is so good!

 

Thank you again for praying for my healing! Having the tumor removed is so glorious and getting my strength back each day is awesome! Thanks is advance for your prayers for my continued healing – maybe I should name this “Operation Eradication!” Love you….

 

Oh, by the way, I attached a recent picture for those of you that are not local so you can see the surgery free flap. Also, when trying to choose a style of monocle it was a hard decision…. I passed on the first two…..

 

Steve & Sandy

John 5:24 “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”

from Steve | my heroes...

Most of us have a hero or heroes in our lives that influence us in a great way. My greatest hero happens to also be the Creator of the universe and everything in it – the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no one else that comes close. Not anyone. He is the greatest! And He never makes mistakes. I have not always been a great disciple or follower but He has always been faithful and great. I have no reason why He would choose me to be His child…but that is why it is called grace! Getting something I did not deserve. Oh, how I love Jesus!

 

But the purpose of this email was to mention some other heroes in my life that really surfaced during my journey of cancer, surgery, and now recovery. That would be our children: Roanna, Alisa, Ryan, and Jamison. They have really been there for us. They have served and honored us well. We are very privileged and blessed because of them. And it would not be accurate to not also mention their spouses, Rick, Mike, Jayme, and Danielle, which love us like their own parents. God has used them during this time to be a huge encouragement and support. God said, so it is true, in Ps 127:3 “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”

The boys live here locally and Roanna drove from TN with her two little ones and Alisa flew here from Tanzania and had to leave her two little boys with Mr Mom, I mean Mr Mike, for the surgery. They helped us in so many ways: with transportation, with food, cleaning the house, groceries, laughing, praying, crying, keeping close to Sandy during my surgery, paid for a hotel so Sandy could stay near the hospital. The boys took turns spending the night with me while in the Burn Unit Intensive Care so Sandy could get rest. They missed sleeping those nights while a doctor or nurse came in every hour. (We like sharing the pain! It’s a family thing…) They helped to smuggle in carrot juice (one of my home protocols) when the doctors weren’t looking. They brought in special artwork from the grandkids to put in my hospital room with the flowers. They helped us with all the doctor appointments, MRI’s and CT Scans, insurance, applications, etc. They created and managed the blog site so everyone could follow these updates, helped sell a lot of things on Craigslist…and I could go on. They took huge burdens off of us while going through this while still trying to balance their work and family responsibilities. We have very special kids and kids-in-law who love the Lord and love us. Very special indeed and we thank the Lord for them!! They are our HEROES!

 

Update: 1) met with the oncologist this week to discuss the chemo journey – sounds like a lot of fun we would love to avoid. I have a follow up appointment with the radiologist to finish deciding on the radiation treatment, another journey I would love to avoid. We will keep you posted. 2) the eye doctor is working on making me a set of glasses (actually it should be singular) so I can see again while the free flap is healing and shrinking (will take about 5 months). It will be highly customized since it will be one half of a set of glasses and will be hard to keep on my face. We’ll see how good he is! 3) still healing the 3 surgical sites of which the throat hurts the most.

 

Thank you again for praying for my healing! You are an important contributor to our support group! We love you.

 

Steve & Sandy

Ps 55:22 “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”

from Steve | Steve must leave the band...

Yes, it is true. Steve can no longer play the trumpet. Actually, I never have played the trumpet but today the doctor removed a device inserted in the left side of my nose called a trumpet. Its purpose was to provide a structure for the surgical site to heal around so that the end result will be to have a left nostril to breathe with. It was also where the feeding tube was inserted when I had that. This trumpet was the last device to be removed and am I glad! It was creating a lot of discomfort (okay, the correct word is pain) whenever I swallowed. Since it had been stitched to the inside of my nose I felt like a bass in the everglades with a fishhook in my nose and every time I swallowed (which is more times during the day than you normally would think) the pain meter would get a nice escalation. So that is gone and I can now swallow with ease and breathe a lot better – freedom feels so good… thank you LORD!

We also met with the radiologist doctor yesterday to evaluate the need for radiation treatments. It was a long appointment but very encouraging. The doctor reviewed the pathology reports stating there was no evidence of cancer in the nerves, was no evidence of cancer in the bones, was no evidence of cancer in the margin area around where the tumor was extracted except for one area in the upper sinus cavity but could not determine how much because it was small. The diagnosis was that there is a 30-40% chance of reoccurrence and with radiation treatments it gets lowered by 20%. We discussed the side effects. But it was determined that there is no urgency to have to do the treatments right now. We have a follow up appointment next month to decide which direction to go. Our focus right now is for everything to just finish healing. The first meeting with the oncologist is April 1 (no connection to Fool’s Day, that is reserved for Atheists (Ps 14:1 “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God…”) While we gather information and continue to heal I continue to do my anti-cancer diet (mostly vegan) and alternative protocols to help build my immune system. So we will know more later and will keep you updated.

                It is hard to believe the surgery was one month ago from this past Monday. How time flies when you are having….. fun…. We are so thankful to the LORD for bringing us this far and healing so quickly.. God has made these bodies so amazing on how they heal and mend (Ps 139:14 “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.”) There is still much to heal in my throat and neck and back and face. We thank you for praying still – it is much needed and appreciated.

 

Steve & Sandy

Colossians 4:2 “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;”