Doing great, here's an update!

An update is in order...I realized this when my mother in law Cindy came to visit and was pleasantly surprised by how well I was doing (& maybe also when I had the oomph to ride the aqua bike!)

Thanks to everyone for your many prayers, meals and love over the past couple of months. We are tremendously grateful for your love and support, it’s been so encouraging.

It’s been a very slow but steady healing process and I’m often very frustrated with the slow pace. Matt gently reminds me that 

I have been through a hell of a lot and really doing fantastic considering! It’s also been a good opportunity to rest, grieve and trust God. Like Hagar in the wilderness, as found in Genesis 16:13, God has shown me that even though the circumstances have been so difficult, I am not alone and He sees me. Sometimes It is hard not to give in to fear or despair but God has made His presence impossible to ignore, which is a great comfort!

Last week we met with both the naturopath & the oncologist and were encouraged. My blood levels are great and I'm feeling like myself again! While waiting for my appointment at the naturopaths office, there were several women behind a partition in the tiny living room sized waiting room receiving IV treatments for cancer. We couldn't help but eavesdrop. They were chattering about how they had beat the odds, felt so healthy and good and were so thankful that they had found this alternative treatment for their cancer. During my appointment, I had to ask our doctor about the women in the waiting room--I learned that a couple of the women had multiple myeloma and were thriving despite the bleak diagnosis. So I asked if I were to go that same route, when should I start getting treatment? Dr. Angove joked that if he could give me the vaccine to start treatment today, he would and then explained more about it. I wish I could remember all the medical terms but I can’t. Essentially a vaccine is made from my own blood, it takes 2 months to be made and then they give it to me & it lasts for a year. I would also be getting high doses of vitamins intravenously every few weeks. The combination of these things works with my immune system to fight the cancer and builds up my body. Dr. Angove encouraged us to keep every door open, such as for chemotherapy as it may be necessary at some point, but he also encouraged us to keep trusting Jesus and that building my immune system up would be the best thing right now. Even my oncologist doesn't recommend chemotherapy right now because I am doing so well and the myeloma hasn't increased. If we were to go this route, we could still potentially have babies as long as the myeloma doesn’t flare up any time soon. We are praying and seeking more information to see if this is a route that God is leading us down, so your prayers are very much appreciated as we are in the decision making process.

Here is a link for more information on the vaccine:

http://www.ehealthandhealing.com/index.cfm?id=amplified-immune-therapy

Also, this is an interesting article about an experimental therapy for cancer. I’m not sure how closely it relates to the vaccine that our naturopath recommended but it’s worth the read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/health/13gene.html?_r=2&hp

Thanks again for all your love, support and prayers over the past couple of months. You were such an encouragement to us!