The Results and Plan
Note: I'm sending this without proofreading because just writing this all zapped my energy. Some of what I wrote may seem diametrically opposed to something else in either word or tone as my attitudes and state of being often conflict with the ideal or what I know to be true. That's the human condition. On to the update...
I know I've updated on facebook (you can join our Team Zieser group by clicking HERE if you have a fb account), but I just realized this afternoon that I haven't shared the good news here on our blog.
The scan results came back showing the spots (tumors) in Steve's lungs are either smaller or the same, but the best news is that there are NO NEW SPOTS! This means that the chemo is working! After receiving this news, we made some plans with Dr. Nabi, our oncologist, on how to proceed. Here's what we decided followed by an explanation of why...
By the way...this last chemo treatment went amazingly well. Steve was sick only once and the rest of the days were as close to normal as we could hope. Of course he was more tired than on a normal day and much to his chagrin did not have enough energy to go to work. I know he would LOVE to be able to work during chemo treatments, but at this point it's just not possible. We thank God for keeping him healthy and are grateful for the new medication that seems to make a huge difference in how he feels. So now, on to our treatment plans...
November: No more chemo...we're taking a break to enjoy Thanksgiving with our families, who we are so very thankful for.
December: Chemo on the 2nd and 16th and then breaking for Christmas.
January: Doing chemo twice this month...probably on the 6th and 20th.
February: Will most likely have a scan done on the 1st and we'll get the results on the 3rd. After that it will be decided if Steve should continue chemo for a while or take a 2-3 month break. (Yes, a BREAK!)
Cancer treatment is very controversial, as in...no one really knows for sure how cancer will respond in each individual and what is the definite best course of treatment. We've done a lot of research and we have a wonderful oncologist who is open to different ideas and treatments including paying attention to quality of life and psychological health and comfort.
What they do know is that chemo doesn't work forever. That is a difficult thing for me to even type. Eventually, the cancer will not respond to chemo and added to that is the fact that a person's body can only handle so much for so long. Of course, new cancer treatments are being developed all the time and what we know and have available to us now may be minuscule to what we have available to us in a few years.
Dr. Nabi is of the belief that taking breaks from chemo (in Steve's case) is one of the best ways to insure this disease can be managed long-term. The opposing school of thought is that once chemo is started, it needs to be continued or else the cancer will increase. While this may be true...that the tumors may increase in size...it is also true that a person who is healthy will be able to fight back against the tumors more than someone who is weak, malnourished with a compromised immune system.
(I just want to say at this point that if my explanations don't seem clear or if I appear to be contradicting myself, it's because this issue is very emotionally charged as well as just confusing. Thank you for extending me the grace to write knowing those reading will understand if my phrasing and word choice isn't ideal.)
So...what we have in our future is most likely chemo and 2-3 month breaks from chemo to recover, re-energize, work and live. This was very good news to us and one that made the future look do-able and possible.
All this talk about treatment options, current beliefs and schools of thought brings to mind something that has been kind of a thorn in our side the past few years. Cancer seems to be a word that causes people to perk up and pay attention...it should and I'm glad there are so many programs encouraging people to get tested, to pay attention to warning signs, help those who are struggling, etc. On the flip side are those companies and organizations and even individuals (celebrities, ugh) who use the word cancer to promote their products and their own beliefs. To someone going through treatment or someone who has a loved one with cancer, nothing is harder than thinking there is a magic cure out there and if we only knew about it and used it, all this cancer stuff would go away. There is no magic cure. There just isn't.
It's irresponsible and ignorant for people to make statements such as "Chemo is poison and everyone who gets it eventually dies" or "A raw food diet will ensure that a person's cancer will go into remission and that they will be cured." While some people may be helped or hurt by certain treatments, there is no one thing that will cure cancer. As much as I enjoy a good conspiracy theory...there is not a cure for cancer being suppressed by the drug companies and there is not one thing in our environment that is causing cancer. It is true that natural treatments are rarely studied because there is not a lot of money to be gained by proving that fresh carrot juice (which we do drink) helps the immune system fight cancer. We know to avoid smoke and other environment toxins that don't promote life and we've switched to natural cleaners and products just so our bodies don't have to fight harder to stay healthy enough to heal. There are things that help, but as much as we want to believe, there is no cure.
We thank people for wanting to share information with us...products that they've seen work, treatments that they've seen not work, etc. It is difficult, however, to smile and nod when the person ringing up your groceries starts giving medical advice...or worse, watching a talk show where a celebrity comes on promoting a book claiming a cure. We have an oncologist we trust, we do a lot of research and we pray that God directs our path so that we are able to walk in health and wholeness. Other than that, we try to avoid news of the latest cure and are very careful where we go for our information online.
Anyway...I'm sure you can tell there are lots of things going on in my head right now and I admit to at times feeling desperate. When I start feeling that desperation is when I stop and refocus...I choose not to let my mind worry (for those who know me, this is a miracle within itself) and I trust in the God who is always there. There is a God who knows my past, my future and my present...the one source of True Love which brings health, healing and wholeness. That power is always there...like a faucet...I just need to turn it on and let the grace and peace and joy flow over me. That's where I choose to live.
Thank you all for reading, for being compassionate and understanding and standing by us through all of this. We know that you each carry burdens of your own and that sometimes reading our updates can add to your struggles...that's not what we want at all. We appreciate your prayers and want to pray for you as well. Prayer is so important not only because it allows us to help one another carry burdens, but let's us commune with the Power of Love that is always present. It's not about religion...it's about God...about Life...about Love...about Peace...about Grace. Tell us how we can pray for you.
I know I've updated on facebook (you can join our Team Zieser group by clicking HERE if you have a fb account), but I just realized this afternoon that I haven't shared the good news here on our blog.
The scan results came back showing the spots (tumors) in Steve's lungs are either smaller or the same, but the best news is that there are NO NEW SPOTS! This means that the chemo is working! After receiving this news, we made some plans with Dr. Nabi, our oncologist, on how to proceed. Here's what we decided followed by an explanation of why...
By the way...this last chemo treatment went amazingly well. Steve was sick only once and the rest of the days were as close to normal as we could hope. Of course he was more tired than on a normal day and much to his chagrin did not have enough energy to go to work. I know he would LOVE to be able to work during chemo treatments, but at this point it's just not possible. We thank God for keeping him healthy and are grateful for the new medication that seems to make a huge difference in how he feels. So now, on to our treatment plans...
November: No more chemo...we're taking a break to enjoy Thanksgiving with our families, who we are so very thankful for.
December: Chemo on the 2nd and 16th and then breaking for Christmas.
January: Doing chemo twice this month...probably on the 6th and 20th.
February: Will most likely have a scan done on the 1st and we'll get the results on the 3rd. After that it will be decided if Steve should continue chemo for a while or take a 2-3 month break. (Yes, a BREAK!)
Cancer treatment is very controversial, as in...no one really knows for sure how cancer will respond in each individual and what is the definite best course of treatment. We've done a lot of research and we have a wonderful oncologist who is open to different ideas and treatments including paying attention to quality of life and psychological health and comfort.
What they do know is that chemo doesn't work forever. That is a difficult thing for me to even type. Eventually, the cancer will not respond to chemo and added to that is the fact that a person's body can only handle so much for so long. Of course, new cancer treatments are being developed all the time and what we know and have available to us now may be minuscule to what we have available to us in a few years.
Dr. Nabi is of the belief that taking breaks from chemo (in Steve's case) is one of the best ways to insure this disease can be managed long-term. The opposing school of thought is that once chemo is started, it needs to be continued or else the cancer will increase. While this may be true...that the tumors may increase in size...it is also true that a person who is healthy will be able to fight back against the tumors more than someone who is weak, malnourished with a compromised immune system.
(I just want to say at this point that if my explanations don't seem clear or if I appear to be contradicting myself, it's because this issue is very emotionally charged as well as just confusing. Thank you for extending me the grace to write knowing those reading will understand if my phrasing and word choice isn't ideal.)
So...what we have in our future is most likely chemo and 2-3 month breaks from chemo to recover, re-energize, work and live. This was very good news to us and one that made the future look do-able and possible.
All this talk about treatment options, current beliefs and schools of thought brings to mind something that has been kind of a thorn in our side the past few years. Cancer seems to be a word that causes people to perk up and pay attention...it should and I'm glad there are so many programs encouraging people to get tested, to pay attention to warning signs, help those who are struggling, etc. On the flip side are those companies and organizations and even individuals (celebrities, ugh) who use the word cancer to promote their products and their own beliefs. To someone going through treatment or someone who has a loved one with cancer, nothing is harder than thinking there is a magic cure out there and if we only knew about it and used it, all this cancer stuff would go away. There is no magic cure. There just isn't.
It's irresponsible and ignorant for people to make statements such as "Chemo is poison and everyone who gets it eventually dies" or "A raw food diet will ensure that a person's cancer will go into remission and that they will be cured." While some people may be helped or hurt by certain treatments, there is no one thing that will cure cancer. As much as I enjoy a good conspiracy theory...there is not a cure for cancer being suppressed by the drug companies and there is not one thing in our environment that is causing cancer. It is true that natural treatments are rarely studied because there is not a lot of money to be gained by proving that fresh carrot juice (which we do drink) helps the immune system fight cancer. We know to avoid smoke and other environment toxins that don't promote life and we've switched to natural cleaners and products just so our bodies don't have to fight harder to stay healthy enough to heal. There are things that help, but as much as we want to believe, there is no cure.
We thank people for wanting to share information with us...products that they've seen work, treatments that they've seen not work, etc. It is difficult, however, to smile and nod when the person ringing up your groceries starts giving medical advice...or worse, watching a talk show where a celebrity comes on promoting a book claiming a cure. We have an oncologist we trust, we do a lot of research and we pray that God directs our path so that we are able to walk in health and wholeness. Other than that, we try to avoid news of the latest cure and are very careful where we go for our information online.
Anyway...I'm sure you can tell there are lots of things going on in my head right now and I admit to at times feeling desperate. When I start feeling that desperation is when I stop and refocus...I choose not to let my mind worry (for those who know me, this is a miracle within itself) and I trust in the God who is always there. There is a God who knows my past, my future and my present...the one source of True Love which brings health, healing and wholeness. That power is always there...like a faucet...I just need to turn it on and let the grace and peace and joy flow over me. That's where I choose to live.
Thank you all for reading, for being compassionate and understanding and standing by us through all of this. We know that you each carry burdens of your own and that sometimes reading our updates can add to your struggles...that's not what we want at all. We appreciate your prayers and want to pray for you as well. Prayer is so important not only because it allows us to help one another carry burdens, but let's us commune with the Power of Love that is always present. It's not about religion...it's about God...about Life...about Love...about Peace...about Grace. Tell us how we can pray for you.
