The Battle Belongs to the Lord

Met with the oncologist last evening. It was a "good news / bad news" kind of discussion.

The GOOD news:

1. What she was brought into the hospital for originally last Saturday (septic shock) has been cleared up.
2. All her vitals are good and stable. She is only on a small amount of IV fluids now and a small amount of antibiotics. They are no longer monitoring her heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen all the time.
3. She is physically gaining strength back.
4. Her "fight" is good. She has a good attitude.

The BAD news:

1. The chemo drug being used for her treatment is no longer working (Abraxane). The Dr. said it probably worked 20% - then did not work any longer after the initial improvement. We knew it was working initially as she began feeling better and most indications showed that she was improving.
2. The latest CT scan has shown the lesions on the liver are bigger and worse. I didn't think to ask what "worse" meant at the time, but I will later. Did it mean that it is now more aggressive? Does it mean there are now more lesions? I'll need to clarify this more when we talk again.
3. The main issue now is the liver. She still has fluid build up and swelling in the abdomen and legs.
4. Her mouth is still extremely sore and she is still having a hard time eating much real food. She is able to drink a lot of water and cranberry juice, so that's good.

Is there a new plan?

1. The Dr. is going to change her chemo regimen since the Abraxane is no longer having effect. They need something that is not as hard on the liver. They said they will have a plan by Wednesday this coming week. They have some options, but finding a chemo that is "easy" on the liver is the challenge, there are not that many.
2. She may have more fluid drained. They have not decided on this yet, but think this may happen on Monday. This is the same procedure that was so painful before. They will be putting her under for this procedure this time.

What can she do in the meantime?

1. She needs to push herself to eat. This will help get her strength back.

How is she doing - really?

1. The situation is still very serious. Now with the Sepsis gone, the concern turns back to the liver. I asked the Dr. about the break she had in chemo when the kidney stone situation arose. He said we might have had a CT scan a couple of weeks earlier if she had stayed on course and we would have found out a little earlier. That was less time than I had thought, but it would still have taken time to get through the chemo and have a CT scan. So, basically we are 2 weeks behind where we would have been.
2. Her attitude is good - she is ready to fight. But we know that our strength only comes from one place - Jesus Christ. Our lives are in his hands.

What can you do?

1. Pray for healing for her body.
2. Pray that she would be able to eat more.
3. Pray for no nausea.
4. Pray for the girls and me - for understanding, perspective, and peace.

Sola Deo Gloria!