Dear Church Family & Friends,
It's been awhile since the last Donna Update - as several folks have sent emails reminding me! <grin>
Quickly, Donna is still doing wonderfully! Praise the Lord!
This past week, she completed her 8th round of chemotherapy with Temodar. While she has tolerated the medication well, she is battling fatigue again.
Back in April, her oncologist and she & I decided that she could take the Temodar every 6 weeks instead of every 4th week as recommended by the manufacturer of the drug. The reason behind this decision was that her fatigue from the medicine was becoming debilitating. Also, since her MRIs have all been clear, our oncologist Dr. Loyd, felt that we could change the timing of the Temodar.
Recently, the fatigue has again been on the increase. Donna will be taking her next round of chemo starting on August 19. Her next MRI will be taken August 29 and will be interpreted on September 4 with her brain surgeon Dr. Prince.
At this point in time, we are facing a dilemma - How long should Donna continue to take this chemotherapy? The reason that we ask is that as long as Donna is on the chemo, it will debilitate her.
The problem that we are facing is that we do not know 100% if all of the cancer cells have been removed or destroyed via the surgery, radiation or the chemo. The doctors tell us that if there is one cell left, this cancer will grow back.
Therefore, we need to add a prayer request to our regular prayer requests; we would like to add that the Lord give us wisdom in deciding how long Donna should take this chemo. We do appreciate this.
Our prayer requests do remain as usual for 1.) the Lord's will to be done in this situation, 2.) for this tumor NEVER EVER to reappear, 3.) for the next, and all further MRIs to be clear, 4.) for all side effects from the drugs to be minimal, and 5.) wisdom and guidance regarding further treatment.
In other news, I have posted a page on Donna's web site, (www.coed4.org) asking for other Glioblastoma Survivors to send us their stories to help encourage others who are facing similar situations. We are also asking to see if others have similar histories like Donna's and perhaps we can help each other decide if they should continue taking Temodar.
As always, we covet your prayers. I'll let you know the results of the next MRI when we find we learn what they are.
In His Name, Service & Love,
Frank & Donna
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