Dear Friends and Supporters,
Last Thursday and Friday I had appointments with the chemotherapy and radiation oncologists. Both were very pleasant and honest about the possibilities given the rare and agressive nature of the cancer I have. I will have chemotherapy first which will involve a combination of two drugs. This will allow them to give smaller doses and reduce unwanted side effects. They will be administered once a week for 2-3 months with every third week off. The surprising thing for me was that they encouraged me to be about my business, whatever I could manage. The radiation will involve high energy x-rays aimed at the sites where they know there has been cancer, however, this is every day, five days a week for six weeks. Again, I was surprized to hear that many patients drive to and from the hospital themselves. The hospital is very willing to work around my schedule as far as is possible.
At this point there is no definite prognosis, they hope that the treatment will sterilize all the cancer cells remaining in the body. However, those who have opted to take the chemotherapy route have always done better than those who have decided against any further treatment. A Yembi Yembi believer speaking at the funeral of another Yembi Yembi believer said that only God has the power to close fingers or to end life. So we take heart that while oncologists give us their best guess given the data, ultimately we are looking to God.
The cool thing about the Yembi Yembi believer’s comments is that the funeral came shortly after a five week leadership/discipleship course taught by our missionaries. Part of the course was on how to conduct a Christian marriage and funeral. Traditionally, the Yembi Yembi would have assumed that the death was a result of black magic and that the dead woman’s spirit would have been floating around their village. This also illustrates how tribal believers must not just be brought to faith but that they must be taught to observe ‘all that I have commanded you’.
In a booklet written by John Piper entitled, ‘Don’t Waste Your Cancer’, he said this. Satan’s and God’s designs in our cancer are not the same. Satan designs to destroy our love for Christ. God designs to deepen our love for Christ, Cancer does not win if we die. It wins if we fail to cherish Christ. God’s design is to wean us off the breast of the world and feast us on the sufficiency of Christ.
Our next hospital appointment will be 5 January 2012. Until then I have to concentrate on good nutrition and exercise so I am as strong as I can be to endure the chemotherapy. Pray for good healing from the surgery. Continue to pray that we will look not at the things that are seen but at the things that are unseen so that we will see this cancer as a light and momentary affliction that is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory above comparing.
James and Lisa