Update on Alyson, August 2023

[orvet]

On Wednesday, August 9th, Alyson and I went to visit her oncologist. The doctor took her off a lamprasil, an oral medication, and will start her on chemotherapy next week. The lamperasil was not controlling the cancer in her liver. It was still growing. It did keep the cancer in her spine and neck from growing. The doctor is hopeful that the new drug will work on both the cancer in the bone and in the liver. The way he talked this was not a cure, but something that would hopefully keep the cancer from growing. He also said this is the last thing he has in his arsenal to fight this particular cancer.

As the doctor explained it, she has triple negative metastasis breast cancer. The triple negative means that the cancers cells don't have don't have the three receptors by which normal cancer cells feed.
Because this cancer doesn't have the receptors, it doesn't feed like other cancers, so they can't attack it through its food source as they can other cancers. Apparently, this cancer just grows and is very aggressive.

Alyson is dealing with a lot of neck and back pain, as well as internal pain. She also has a great deal of fatigue. Sometimes when she takes her walker to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee she has to have me finish making the coffee and bring it to her because she cannot stand up, or even sit on her walker long enough to make a cup of coffee in the Keurig.
I know she is an agony much of the time but she is in good spirits.

It is all in God's hands! I know in the "already, and the not yet," of God's Kingdom, she is healed. We just have not seen that healing yet. Whether that healing comes in this temporal realm or in eternity is up to God. He is in control!

Your prayers are greatly appreciated. Sometimes when we see something like this it is easy to become discouraged. But God is not the author of pain, suffering and death, those things are the result of sin, of the fall of Man in the Garden of Eden. We know there was no death in the garden prior to sin. What could be worse than living forever in this fallen world surrounded by hate, crime, war, aging, decay and death?
Through Jesus Christ, God paid the wages of our sin. If we are born anew into the kingdom of God, though our body may waste away and die, our spirit and soul live forever in the presence of the Loving Father! He loved us enough that he gave his own son to be crucified and raised from the dead as an atonement for our sins! He ownes death, it no longer has dominion over those who follow Him!
God is worthy of our worship, praise, glory and thanksgiving! Amen!

I would appreciate it if you pray for our strength, comfort and peace and for our family. Please pray for Alyson's fatigue and pain.

Thank you for your prayers and may the Loving Father in Heaven bless you all.

[treefarmer]

Thank you, Dale for the detailed explanation of how this strain of this dreaded disease is challenging Miss Alyson and you.
Your 4th paragraph explains your faith! The next few describes why we all face these unpleasant difficulties of life because of the original fall.
We will continue praying, as you requested, for God's mercy and grace for the entire family.
Treefarmer

[djknife13]

Thanks Dale. I'll continue to pray for you and Alyson and I praise God that you have the hope you do in our loving Savior, and may God bless you through this difficult time. ____Dave

[beresman]

Dale, thank you for sharing and offering the privilege of praying with you. I lost both of my parents to cancer, so I have had just a small glimpse into what you are dealing with. I am extremely grateful that God is our strength and comfort when we have none ourselves.

[Quick Steel]

Prayers continuing and particularly that Alyson may experience some relief from her pain.

[Case V42]

Our prayers are with you.

[Reverand]

I will keep praying for Alyson, and for you. Even if this cancer goes into remission now, it is difficult for you to watch her go through this. Probably more difficult than experiencing it oneself.
We know that in Christ we will have a new Glorified body, one that will never again experience weakness, pain, or death. But it is natural to try to hang on to the broken one that we currently inhabit.
I am humbled by your faith.
Keep holding to His nail-scarred hands. Jesus is enough.

[orvet]

Thank you all for your comments and prayers, they are very helpful.

There is a really good song video on YouTube I have taken comfort from.
https://youtu.be/qCdevloDE6E

[dlr110]

2 Samuel 22:31
"As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him."
I thought of this verse because no matter what happens in our life we can trust in God just as David did and God delivered him in his time of distress. God's plan for each of us is perfect and His love for those who believe and trust in Him is perfect and eternal. Trust in God for all your needs and comfort in this time of distress, rely on His word and His promises and He will carry you through all your trails. My words are like dust but my prayers to our Holy Father I know are heard and I will continue to pray daily for you and Alyson.

[Paladin]

God's Blessings to both you and Alyson, Dale.

Ray

[glennbad]

I will pray for Alyson through this difficult time, for her comfort and healing. I will also pray for you Dale, that your mind may be at ease through all this.

[philco]

Dale thank you for the update. You've got a lot of folks here in this community who care about what you and Alyson are going through. I'll continue to lift both of you up in prayer.

[eveled]

Prayers sent.

[orvet]

I hope this is coherent, it has been a long day. Alyson woke up this morning with a fever and vomiting, two things that the doctor told us to notify him if they occurred. She called them this morning and they told us to go to the emergency room. She was admitted to the hospital and will probably be there for a couple of days.

They did some testing on her in the ER and found that her blood count was so low that she basically had no immune system. This is a side effect of the chemotherapy drug. They said the tumor was still growing. She still has a fever that goes up and down. The vomiting stopped this morning, so we are thankful for that. They have her on a couple of potent pain meds, and she still having a lot of pain. Her heartbeat has been irregular when she gets up to use the bathroom, going very high and then dropping low. The nurse has been very concerned about that . The ER doctor talked about keeping her in the hospital for a couple of days as they have her on a couple of different IV antibiotics. Her oncologist should be in to see her tomorrow.

That's all I can remember at the moment. Please keep her in your prayers.

May God be glorified and praised in her life and body, and may it be on earth, as it is in heaven.

To God be on the glory!
Amen

[treefarmer]

Continued prayers for all involved. Praying for Miss Alyson's comfort, for the attending doctors and nurses to at the top of their games and for you, Dale, to maintain in your strong faith.
Treefarmer

[djknife13]

This is tough to hear. My heart goes out to you and Alyson and I'll definitely keep praying.____Dave

[dlr110]

Dale, I pray that God will grant you the strength to sustain you and may the medical staff provide the care that Alyson needs.
God bless you both.

[1967redrider]

Prayers going out, Dale.

[bighomer]

Continue to pray for your family Dale. May the good Lord bless and comfort Alyson.

[Quick Steel]

Dale, I am frustrated that there is not something more I can do to alleviate Alyson's and your suffering. Yet the Lord has only provided us with prayer as a means. Well then, you shall continue to have my prayers joined with so many others.

[orvet]

Thank you all for your prayers, they do far more than we can see.
I'm getting ready to go back to the hospital shortly, but I talked to Alyson this morning. Her oncologist was in to see her and said the fever is not unusual with this type of chemo. They will keep her in the hospital, probably until the end of the week. They want to make sure the fever is gone and her immune system is built up some before she can come home. This cycle of fever and hospitalization may continue with this chemo treatments, according to what the doctor told her this morning.
The doctor will reduce the amount of chemo drug she gets on her next treatment, which is scheduled for September 5th.

I will keep you all informed as I know more.
God is in control, of that I am sure and confident, no matter the outcome. We don't always see our prayers answered on our time table. But God who created time is not bound by it. Sometimes the prayers we pray in this world are answered in eternity, not a place that we can see from where we presently stand. We can only see that place through the eyes of faith.

Thank you all for your prayers and may God bless you!

[philco]

My prayers for you two continue.

[glennbad]

I will continue to pray for both of you.

[orvet]

I thought I would give you all an update on Alyson. She is still in the hospital. Her neutrophil level is .15, up from .09 a couple days ago . The doctor wants it up to .5 before he releases her to go home. Neutrophil is a measurement they use for the immune system, part of the white blood cells. Apparently it had been pretty hard hit by the chemo, essentially leaving her without a functioning immune system. For a couple of days I had to wear a plastic gown and gloves when I went in to visit her.
She is out of the plastic gown stage now and our granddaughter flew out from New York with her three children and visited her today. She got pretty tired but she was really bolstered by seeing the great grandkids and her granddaughter. They will be in the area for three more days so they will get to visit her some more. That was probably the best medicine she could have gotten!
She may be able to go home Sunday or Monday, depending on her neutrophil levels. She was really bummed out she doesn't get to go home by Saturday because that is her birthday.

Please continue your prayers on her behalf.
God bless you all!

[doglegg]

Thanks for sharing Dale. Prayers.