Dearest Friends & Family,
Thank you for your patience in receiving this update. I have heard from many of you wondering what has been going on and if there was any significant news. The appointment on August 10th left us very confused. Honestly, I haven’t quite known how to describe what transpired but I will do my best.
When we arrived at the appointment we quickly realized that we were NOT meeting with an oncologist but rather a radiologist. It became clear that they would like Stephen to do radiation therapy to help lower the risk of the tumor returning in the future. As the radiologist was explaining the therapy and what would take place, we had to keep asking him to backtrack so we could gain some clarity on what needed to happen next. In our minds, we assumed a PET scan would be ordered and Stephen’s body would be assessed to determine what he needed next to contain/eliminate/treat the cancer, if there was even any cancer remaining. It was super confusing why we were not sent straight to an oncologist.
As we continued to refer to Stephen’s condition as cancer the radiologist interjected at some point and stated that he would not call it cancerous. That added MUCH more confusion on top of an already confusing appointment. He said that the pathology report did not state cancer anywhere on it. I asked him to print us a copy so we could see and read it for ourselves. It did not say cancer anywhere in the initial report. He said that unless Stephen’s surgeon and his team knew something that was not on that report it did not look or seem cancerous to him.
After talking further, the radiologist recommended that Stephen do a follow up MRI sooner than the 3 month post surgery timeline that had been set. He also shared that Mayo Clinic would be completing a more detailed report on the tumor structure/DNA that would be reviewed by a top level team of doctors at OU Health once it was received.
Stephen received the follow up MRI this past Wednesday and from the initial report it seems to show no signs of tumor regrowth, however we are waiting to hear more from one of the Drs. he has been working with. It is a long, sometimes confusing process that we are in and answers are hard to come by at times. Right now, one of our biggest questions has become “is it cancerous or not?” Obviously a big one.
Stephen continues to wear an eye patch over his left eye as the sight is still not aligned correctly. His follow up appointment with the Neuro Ophthalmologist is September 6th so we will find out then whether there is any progress towards healing.
Hopefully we will have more answers soon and we can all have more clarity on what exactly is going on! In the meantime, we are continuing Stephen’s natural treatments and his plant based diet (click here to learn more about the diet plan).
Again, thank you so much to everyone who has been sending various gifts and support. We would not be surviving this season without all of you and your consistent care! Your physical gifts are a blessing but even more so your prayers are deeply felt by us all. Thank you!!
In other news, nature is still against us at our house. Not only does the flea battle continue (although much improved) — we also had to face a baby snake, lizard, a mice invasion, and a scorpion inside of our home in the past two weeks, + a black widow spider in the garden bed and brown recluse spider in our garage (thank the Lord it was not in our home) AND a dead rooster on our driveway (not ours thankfully, but odd to find for sure).
Will write again soon,
Laura (& Stephen)
We are stunned and thankful that there may be no malignancy! Our hope and trust are in the Creator God our Father, through Christ Jesus and by His Spirit!
Thank you so much for your update! It's exciting the tumor may not be malignant! We continue to pray for healing of that left eye. Trusting in the One who has all the answers.