The Winter Has Past

"For now the winter is past; the rain has ended and gone away. The blossoms appear in the countryside. The time of singing has come, and the turtledove’s cooing is heard in our land." These words from Song of Solomon 2:11-12 describes our faith journey today.

On this summer day in August, Harry and I received the news that we have been longing to hear. No. He is not in remission. His doctor explained Harry will not go into remission. (Of course, by God's grace, we know it's possible.) We received news of the next best thing. Because he is doing so well, Harry's chemo treatments have been put on hold.

The immunotherapy chemo treatments he has received since September 2016 have done its work. From what the doctors can tell from his CT scans, the treatments have successfully trained his immune system to fight the cancer. The last scan revealed that the main tumor in his lung has decreased in size. With that, the doctor advised it would be okay to pause the chemo treatments.

This cessation in chemo will give Harry's body a chance to regain some normalcy. He had begun to experience skin rashes, patches of hair loss, loss of energy and other side effects from the chemo. Also because the immunotherapy is still in its infancy, the doctor did not want it to become toxic.

Of course, Harry has mixed emotions about stopping, as anyone would in his shoes. The chemo has been a kind of security blanket that made him feel safe. Removing that security gave him pause for concern. But he realized that as God has been from the very beginning, He is in complete control.

To mark the beginning of this new phase, Harry will be given a PET scan next month (September), then we will see his doctor. After that, he will see the doctor every three months. Most of you remember how this journey began. In May of 2016, he had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer and given 10 months to live. But praise be to God (and only God), Harry is still here.

Nurses Amy and Michelle
with Harry

Thank you, thank you, and thank you again for your prayers. This is not the end of our journey and we hope it is not the end our relationship with all of you. The support we have received from family and friends have meant so much. Before we left the hospital today, we stopped in the chemo room to say thank you to the nurses who have served us these past two years. Thank you, Heather, Michelle, Amy, and other nurses. Through tears of joy, we embraced and gave God praise.

We came through a difficult winter that at times seemed would do us in. But the blossoms have appeared, and we are singing and praising God. For those who are facing their own journey of faith, don't ever count God out. The prognosis is not left up the doctors. God has you in His care, and He has promised that the fervent prayers of a righteous person are powerful and effective (James 5:16).

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