Change of plans...

Today (6/28) we had an appointment with the Medical Oncologist to discuss the biopsy results and finalize the treatment plan scheduled to start tomorrow (6/29). It didn't go as expected. We will do our best to explain where we are now, though we are still trying to process it ourselves. 

70% of Renal Cell Carcinoma cases are "clear cell" cases. The remaining 30 are various subtypes. Our proposed treatment plan was going off the assumption that this was Clear Cell RCC. At the appointment, we learned that the biopsy results indicated that it was not clear cell, but likely an extremely rare subtype. The type of tumor Clay has is typically non-malignant, slow growing, and does not spread. However, in Clay's body it is presenting itself in all opposing ways. 

Last week, our hospital entered a partnership with MD Anderson. We are so grateful for the timing of this. Our oncologist recommended waiting two weeks to start treatment until he can discuss our case with the team there and get a second opinion on the biopsy since it is so unusual. He communicated to us that he believes we may only have one chance to get this right, and it would be foolish to not consult to the premier doctors in this field prior to starting treatment. Though we HATE pushing treatments back further, we agree with him.  

Today has been hard. We were ready to begin fighting this tomorrow. 

More than ever we are thankful that our hope is not on anything other than Christ and what He accomplished on the cross. When everything under us continues to be shaken and moved and no one understands what is going on in Clay's body, we are not shaken. Christ keeps our feet from slipping. We put our hope in him alone. 

I read this verse in my quiet time a few days ago regarding Abraham and have been praying it to be true of us in this season: 

"No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised." Romans 4:20-21

Even though this is heavy, God is still good. His promises are still true, and His presence is so near to us now. Though we are tempted to fear, we know we don't have to. We know he is strengthening our faith as we believe his promises are true and do our absolute best to glorify him in this valley. 

Ways to Pray:

• Healing 
• Peace as we wait
• Clear plan from our medical teams at Ochsner and MD Anderson
• Pain levels to remain under control

Answered prayer:

• Insurance approval came through 
• Partnership that allows us to have access to a larger team of doctors 

Ready, break!

What is community?

I sat down to answer that simple question about 10 days after this journey started. It's a question I've answered many times, even taught on the topic. I thought I had a pretty good grasp on what it meant to live in community and be a part of a close-knit community.

And then our lives got upended and I learned new depths of the word.

We've gotten countless messages expressing love and committing persistent prayers. We've received thoughtful cards from people we know well and people we've never met. We've received phone calls from people in a few different countries who just wanted to talk and pray with us. People have provided meals since day 1 and shown up with groceries  and shipped paper products and offered to transport us to/from doctor visits. Multiple prayer gatherings have been conducted surrounding us. If the list stopped there, we would be blown away by the support we've received. But that's barely scratching the surface.

Friends have set up a Mealtrain, a "lotsa helping hands" site, and a fundraising site for us. They've coordinated childcare for all 4 of our kids when appointments necessitated it. They've taken our kids to the pool or just played with them in the pool for extended periods so we could sit. People have sacrificially donated humbling amounts to help prepare us for the incoming medical bills. While we got our second opinion in Atlanta, an army of people moved all of our stuff from our 2nd floor apartment to a 1st floor apartment two buildings away. When we landed in Atlanta, a friend drove hours to pick us up and spend a few hours with us. Our families in AR have split time in New Orleans (not a short drive) helping to ease burdens. Our friends (and "friends of friends") in medical fields have given up their time to research things to help us have a better idea about what is going on and what to expect. And you're sitting down (or walking around) reading this update right now.

We are absolutely blown away by the support we've received and continue to receive. Having spent time at 2 different seminaries, living in different states, and pastoring a church for a couple of years, I realize that we have a level of support that most others do not. That's a humbling fact to process. In spite of these circumstances, the Lord really has been so good and so kind to us. These selfless acts all serve as reminders that He has not abandoned us in our darkest moments. There is a new level of comfort in knowing that our Savior suffered for us and knows (really, truly knows) what we are going through in these moments.

In Luke 14 when Jesus was hanging out at a Pharisee's house, He gave them a new standard:

12 Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. 13 But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Suddenly, we have nothing to give. Now we are on the receiving end of things that we'll never be able to repay. As I sat down to answer the simple question, "What is community?" that day, I quickly filled up a full page with line after line of things I never would've thought to do for someone else. Only a snippet of those are recorded here. We can never repay what's been given to us or express enough gratitude for those who have loved us so well. We won't soon forget the new depths of "community" that we have learned over the past month.

How To Pray

• Radiation started on Thursday. We are 2/5 of the way through those treatments. So far there have been no "pain flares" (the main side effect we were told to be aware of) but pray that continues to be the case. The radiation treatments are aimed at the 3 worst pain areas in an effort to reduce my day-to-day pain. Please pray for effectiveness there.
• I go to the dentist on Tuesday to get my exam to see if I need any work done before starting another medication. Pray that it would be a clean exam or that the procedures can be scheduled quickly.
• We meet with our medical oncologist on Wednesday to go over the plan one more time. Pray that insurance approves the treatment plan before then.
• Immunotherapy treatments start on Thursday morning. We don't fully know what to expect, especially as far as my body's reaction is concerned. Pray that side effects will be minimal and that my body will respond correctly to the treatments.

Ready, break!

How did we get here?

Welcome to our blog. We are so thankful each of you are joining us in prayer and support as we walk through this journey. Though this is not where we would have chosen to be, we are so grateful for the support of friends from all over the world and for the way the Lord is with us with every step. 

Our family loves to play & watch sports. No matter what sport it is, the huddle is the critical time when the team gathers together, should-to-shoulder to go over the gameplan. When the team breaks the huddle, everyone knows their job. We created this blog as a way to huddle everyone together as we fight this thing together. Some posts will be factual/informative. Some will be insights the Lord is teaching us or thoughts He's given us to ponder. The goal of all of them is to give you specific ways you can pray for us and journey with us through this. We need every one of you.

We thought we would start with an update of the last month so you would know where we are. It's a lot.

May 23rd: We celebrated Clay's 35th birthday and our 8th anniversary. We were eagerly awaiting the MRI his chiropractor had scheduled for May 25th so we could try to figure out what was going on with his back, as he had been having severe back pain for the past few months. 

May 25th: Clay went in for the MRI at 7:00. By 10:00, his chiropractor called to tell him there was a "highly suspicious mass" on his right kidney with lesions on his spine. He informed him that it looked to be consistent with kidney cancer. He suggested that he get an appointment with an oncologist ASAP. The rest of that day was a flurry of making phone calls and complete disbelief. We ended up getting an appointment for the following Monday. 

May 29th: Urological Oncologist appointment at Ochsner. He let us know that it did look to be consistent with Renal Cell Carcinoma, but we would need to get CT scans to know for certain. Clay's parents came down that night while we went to two CT scans.

May 30th: On our way to the Bone Scan, we got the results from the CT scans that confirmed the large (9 cm) mass was Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC). As horrible and shocking as that news was, we were thankful it hadn't spread to any other organs. The bone scan that morning confirmed that the cancer had spread to his spine, ribs, shoulders, hips, and femurs. That spread means that we are looking at a stage 4 diagnosis.

Clay talked to his medical oncologist in NOLA about the results, but we couldn't get an appointment to meet with the medical oncologist until June 14th. In the meantime, we were able to get an appointment at the Cancer Treatment Center of America (CTCA) in Atlanta June 5th. 

June 5-7: These 3 days were full of appointments with the CTCA staff getting "second" opinions on everything. They confirmed everything that our team at Ochsner had said and provided us with their preferred plan of attack. We were also introduced to their social worker and naturopath. Both of them provided helpful insights (in drastically different fields) that we are thankful for.

June 14: We finally got to meet with our medical oncologist in New Orleans at 8 AM. He provided us with a detailed treatment plan that he believes in strongly. He also put in referrals for their palliative care team and radiation oncology team for pain relief, as well as a referral to their integrative oncology team for a holistic approach to fighting back against this disease.

June 16: We finally had the biopsy early this day to determine the sub-type of the RCC. We are eagerly waiting to get those results back now.

There are still some other appointments to go before we can start all of the new medications (like going to the dentist to make sure I can make sure my jaw won't get messed up in this process). We know this timeline covers less than 4 weeks so you might scoff at the use of "finally" above but each day since May 25th has felt like a year. Those of you who have walked this road understand. We are grateful for our team of doctors who have gone above and beyond to get things scheduled so quickly. They have all patiently sat with us to answer questions and to go over everything as clearly as possible. They have not tried to sugar-coat anything or downplay the seriousness of the situation. That's not their job.

This information dump is only a small portion of the info we've taken in over the past 3.5 weeks. We ask that you would pray for us as we try to sift through the sheer amount of information and for wisdom as we move forward in treatment plans and the accompanying lifestyle changes. We plan to start treatment on June 29th, pending biopsy results and insurance approval. Please pray that these would come through on time. 

Ready, break!