I just wanted to write a quick update and to again thank all of you who have been praying for us and encouraging us over the past weeks.

Last Thursday I met with my local oncologist (Dr. Thudi) here in Irving to discuss the chemotherapy regimen suggested by my team at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Thudi provided me with the results from the tests on my lymph node biopsy tissue - they indicate that I am not HER2 positive, nor am I a candidate for immunotherapy. MD Anderson will be conducting similar tests on the direct biopsy of the stomach tumor, but given these results, it is very unlikely that my specific cancer will benefit from any of the targeted treatments that currently exist for gastric cancer.

Dr. Thudi also scheduled an MRI for Monday morning (4/11) to examine the tumor in my nasal cavity once more to make sure it's not something that the chemotherapy will exacerbate. There is a small possibility that the nasal cavity tumor is not a tumor at all, but a fungal ball. Hopefully, the MRI will provide good evidence one way or the other about the nature of the nasal cavity growth. My first chemotherapy treatment has been scheduled for Monday (4/11) at 11:00 am. I will have blood tests and a health check during the first hour, then the two-hour infusion of the Oxaliplatin. I will receive a pack with the 5-Fluorouracil which I will carry around for two days to complete the 48 hour infusion. In addition to the chemo drugs, I will receive pre-medications containing anti-nausea drugs, steroids, and other pharmaceuticals to minimize the side-effects of the chemo. This regimen will continue every 14 days. In mid-June, I will go back to MD Anderson for CT scans and blood tests to see whether there is any progress toward shrinking the tumor.

On Friday, I had surgery to insert the Mediport right under my left shoulder blade, which allows delivery of the chemotherapy drugs directly into my aorta. Future blood draws and injections can all be done through this port, minimizing the need to continually poke me in the arms and hands during procedures. 

Over the past few weeks, I have been reflecting on the Biblical story of Ruth. In the story, Ruth ends up leaving her home country of Moab with Naomi, her mother-in-law, to live in a country that is not her own. Both of them have lost their husbands and are living in a culture where unmarried women are not valued. Ruth essentially ends up begging for food in the fields of Naomi's distant relatives so the two of them can survive. It's a tragic point in the story. Certainly, both Naomi and Ruth must have wished that their husbands had survived, that events had turned out differently so they weren't merely scraping by on the kindness of others. Of course, those who know the story of Ruth know that she eventually married Boaz, the owner of the field she was gathering grain in behind the harvesters. Ruth does find a happy ending to the tragic story. What struck me most about this story, though, was how Ruth never got to see the larger picture of how the tragedy of losing her family and finding herself in poverty in a foreign country was used by God. Ruth never knew that her great-grandson was King David - the greatest of all the kings of Israel. Further, she never knew that even further down from David, that her lineage would include the Messiah, Jesus Christ, through whom all the families of the world would be blessed.

As much as I wish events had turned out differently and as dificult as it is to accept the tragedy of this cancer in my family, the story of Ruth challenges me to trust that God has a bigger picture in view - one that I may never see, but one that I know is there. God will not waste my cancer. He has a plan and a purpose for it. Already, I can see the ways that this cancer has changed my perspective and my behaviors - pushing me to value every single moment, making the most of every opportunity.

Melissa and I continue to be so grateful for the encouragement that we receive from all of you. Those of you who are praying for us, please consider the following requests this week:

• That the side-effects of the chemotherapy would be minimal, allowing me to continue to work and provide for my family.
• For unusual efficacy of the chemotherapy regimen against my particular cancer.
• That God would teach me what He has for me to learn through this experience.

Thank you all.