March 6, 2010

My Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers for me and our family in this long season of war on cancer. One of my nurses gave me a bumper sticker (which now resides on my office door which aptly summarizes the enemy: “STUPID CANCER”. I love it. And what I love more is the way God is answering your prayers in through the eradication of this dumb disease from my body.

I wanted to give you a brief update on how the battle goes, but I warn you advance that this (and most of those to come in the next little while) will be about as exciting as watching paint peel. That’s kind of how it goes with these duels with dumb cells. My war began promisingly with all sorts of dash and aplomb—two major surgeries, double-barreled chemo, PET scans and exotic side-effects. There was a lot of news to report in those halcyon days!

But now, alas, I have entered the long march phase in which, for the foreseeable future, my updates to you will mainly consist of the following: “Got chemo, had a hard week and then a good week. Got chemo, had a hard week and then a good week. Got chemo, had a hard week and then a good week. Got chemo, had a hard week and then a good week. Got chemo, had a hard week and then a good week. Got chemo, had a hard week and then a good week. Got chemo, had a hard week and then a good week. . .”

That was the Clift notes version of a year’s worth of chemo. To be accurate, I should have repeated that phrase 20 times. See how I shortened it for you? That’s what I meant about paint peeling. . . updates with no real news are more like beat down’s.

But wait, there is one possible news item coming up in all this dreary repetitiveness. In about a month, the doc wants another PET scan. The hope is that it will be clear and that we can declare my disease in remission. That would be cool! Remission doesn’t mean that all the cancer is dead or that it will never recur or that my chemo treatments can end, just that there are no discernible clumps or tumors in my body. Hey, I’ll take anything I can get. And if that happens, I promise to write you a very exciting update with all sorts of drama and flourish to relieve this present monotony.

In the meantime, life is good, every day a gift, and grace supreme. Alice is the rock of Gibraltar, pursuing her seminary studies and teaching ministry at IBC even while fighting her own battle with migraines (please keep her in your prayers!), all with great faith and courage. I’m loving getting back involved with more preaching and leading and ministry at IBC, and I’m looking forward to dusting off my golf clubs and back on (motorized!) two wheels when the good weather arrives to stay. I’m working out daily and keeping most of my hair (for now!). Our kids are doing great, we’re expecting our second grand baby in August. No worries here mates!

We love you all, cherish your friendship, and pray God’s great blessings in your lives!

Farther Up, Further in,

Andy