God is good...

...all the time!!! So my results of the biopsy are in. No sign of cancer or disease in the two spots!!! Instead, it was a false positive caused by scar tissue. Also, the surgery was able to be done laparoscopically which means a shorter recovery time. Such an answer to prayer. Thanks so much for your prayers!!!! My dad came to town to be my driver and fishing partner after the surgery. I can't lift anything so he would do all the work including reeling in all the big fish. Andrea and I were actually driving him to the airport when my Dr. called. There were tears of joy and relief and I'm glad Andrea was driving as I broke down completely. 

So I feel this whole experience was a wake-up call for me. God has been telling me for a while to put down the pole and pick up the cross. HE wants me to be a fisher of men first and a better husband and father second and maybe a fisher of fish somewhere after that. I've been ignoring this calling. When I had this  diagnosis, one if the first things that jumped into my mind is that I can't die, I haven't done enough for God!! I've done a lot for my own enjoyment and glory. Well now I have this chance and don't intend on blowing it. I have a quote from a song that I keep under my visor of my truck. "How can I further Your kingdom when I'm so wrapped up in mine."  Well, even carrying that around for the past few years, I've failed to really change. So my prayer request is that I can find a way to further His kingdom in the remaining time he grants me on this beautiful planet. 

So the morning after getting the great news from my Dr. I turned on the radio. The first song that came on was so awesome I wanted share it with you all. Here are the lyrics:

I've been running through rain that I thought would never end
Trying to make it on faith in a struggle against the wind
I've seen the dark and the broken places
But I know in my soul no matter how bad it gets, I'll be alright

There's hope in front of me
There's a light I still see it
There's a hand still holding me
Even when I don't believe it
I might be down but I'm not dead
There's better days still up ahead
Even after all I've seen, there's hope in front of me

There's a place at the end of the storm you'll finally find
Where the hurt and the tears and the pain all fall behind
You open up your eyes and up ahead there's a big sun shining
Right then and there you realize, you'll be alright

There's hope in front of me
There's a light I still see it
There's a hand still holding me
Even when I don't believe it
I might be down but I'm not dead
There's better days still up ahead
Even after all I've seen, there's hope in front of me

There's a hope still burning
I can feel it rising through the night
And my world's still turning
I can feel Your love here by my side

You're my hope
You're the light I still see it
Your hands are holding me
Even when I don't believe
Oh, I've got to believe, I‘ve got to believe

I still have hope
You are my hope


So the song was perfect. The picture I'm including was taken after a celebratory dinner with Andrea and my two kids (and  Lexy's boyfriend) who are still in town. My California kid was with us in spirit and text!!! Thanks again for all the awesome support. Jeff

Surgery went well

Thanks all you prayer warriors!! I love the notes, thoughts and prayers. God is good!! The surgery yesterday went great. My awesome surgeon was able to take the biopsies of both spots laparoscopically again...no big incision. We should find out the results by next Friday. My dr. gave it a 50/50 chance that it is scar tissue so that's what I'm praying for, knowing that it also could be cancer. My verse this week is from Phillipians 4:6-7

"6  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

My dad is in town helping drive me around in the car and boat :)  We fished the day before my surgery. He lost a big one and I was lucky to catch the one in the picture. 

The results are in.....

The two little spots that showed up in the "halfway scan" were still there. Most likely I have two forms of lymphoma. The NLPHL was probably the large area that showed up in my pre-chemo scan. That is no longer there and was gone after the halfway point. The second unknown entity is still there and wasn't treated by the chemo. 

Somehow my dr. set me up with my surgeon right after my appt. with him so I'm currently waiting in the waiting room to see him. I've already met with his "fellow."  So the plan is to biopsy the two nodes or spots to see what they are before coming up with a treatment plan. The two nodes that were removed in April had two different things going on. The big one was nlphl while the small one had folicular lymphoma insitu. My onc surmised that the two remaining spots could be folicular lymphoma.  The good news is I feel great physically, am only a little upset emotionally, the two spots are small 1.9 cm or less, they haven't spread or grown and everything else was clear. As I was writing this, I just met with my surgeon. He is going to get me in in the next few weeks. So at least it is going quickly. Thanks for the positive thought and prayers AND please keep praying. The picture is a 10 minute charcoal drawing my son did of me before I knew about the lymphoma. When I saw it today, it kind of summed up how I feel. A little down, in thought and prayer. Jeff

8 down 0 to go.

While chemo 8 was terrible, it's so nice to be done with this phase. Hopefully this will be it. I get scanned sometime near the end of the month or early September. I got really sick on Thursday and threw-up several times. It was horrible. Felt a little better on Friday and went to work. Saturday and Sunday were the usual bad days with nausea and gloppy feeling. Taste buds were non existance and GI track is raw. Also, my low grade fever returned last night. BUT I'M DONE FOR NOW!! AND SO MANY BLESSINGS. No weight loss, I weighed 175 on Thursday; no mouth sores; not too much numbness in hands and feet; I never became sick even though I had neutropenia the entire time; I never missed a treatment. Thank you Lord!!! Thank you everyone for thoughts and prayers. Please continue to pray for complete healing. This is a picture from my senior year in high school...1984. In this picture is a friend who just reconnected with me and sent me an amazing care package. After we both took 1st in state for wrestling, we jumped off a 65 foot tower in the middle of a reservoir in Hawaii. One good thing about illness is it brings old friends back together. 

Time flies.......

I can't believe it's been three months since I started my first chemo treatment on May 1st. Time does fly when you are dreading the next infusion. Number 7 was about the same, but no tossing the cookies thanks to anti-nausea drugs. Vitals were good as I weighed in at 176 and hair is still growing. Two awesome blessings over the past few weeks. First, I reconnected with one of my best friends from Hawaii. It was so good to talk with him. I can't wait to visit him sometime and talk about all the fun we had growing up in Hawaii. Second, friends of my parents (and my friends too) were in town visiting family and they brought my family an entire meal. That was so thoughtful and really helped make for a wonderful night. Andrea continues to treat me like a king. Pray for her as well as I'm sure I'm not easy to take care of. She boils my drinking water and makes ice cubes for me as well as keeping me well fed.

Thanks to everyone that has wished me well, prayed for me, or just made me laugh. It all helps soooo much. Chemo #8 is a few days away. Hopefully, that will be the last. They will do another CT/PET scan around August 20th to see if the cancer has been defeated. 

On a lighter side,  as usual, I was able to do a little fishing. This picture was taken by Jeremy on beautiful night when we both went out fishing on the paddle boards. I'm so thankful to God for special moments he gives me. I enjoy the beauty of His creation!!

Sixth had fireworks.

So the 10 days leading up to #6 were interesting. My body decided that working out was too much. I endured nightly low grade fevers (99.5-100.2) that lasted a couple hours then went away. It was a bit scary as my Dr. instructed me to go to the hospital if I had a fever of 100.5 for an hour. One awesome event was feeling well enough to go out on the boat with Andrea on the 4th of July and watching fireworks!! As for chemo 6, I had my first episode of throwing up. Not fun, but I made it through. Thank goodness for the World Cup as it gave me something to watch. Side affects are a little more severe the last few days, but not unbearable. I continue to praise God in this storm and thank him for all those praying for me. Two more chemos before next PET/CT scan to see what, if anything, is next. I'm praying that August 7th will be my last chemo and everything will look good. One answer to prayer was that after I had chemo on Thursday, the nightly fevers have not returned for three nights. As for vitals, I weighed in at 175, my hair is still growing and I

caught several nice bass over the past two weeks. Finally, I had a surprise visit from my cousin Jeremy on Wednesday. He cheered me up and took my mind off the treatment I was facing the following day. Picture is of cousin Jeremy and me. Thanks again to my family and friends and prayer warriors for prayer, support and love. 

Hanging in there after #5

The PET/CT was not bad, was not great but was good. The nodes shrunk almost in half and the amount of life/light in the cancer was significantly less but not all the way gone as my Dr. had hoped. The 5th chemo went in fine with the usual issues. My weight is 174 which is still great as my target pre-cancer was 170. I've been able to fish and enjoy life after about the Tuesday following chemo. I may try and do a short jog tonight.  The weird thing is that my hair is still growing. I'm not sure I should have buzzed it. The Lord has been so good. Can't wait to see what he has in store for me. The picture is how I spend my good days when I need some peace on the lake. Fishing on the surfboard with the dog... Or in the hammock reading notes my elementary art school teacher sends me. Thanks everyone for the encouragement.