Restart

I started this blog in 2007 when we were building our house because we wanted to share the building process with our kids and their families. At that time three of our four children were living overseas. The most activity on this blog was during my proton therapy treatment for prostate cancer at the University of Florida hospital in Jacksonville during 2012. 

Once again I am dealing with cancer, and the Lord has led me to do a restart with this blog to keep family and friends posted on what’s going on with the cancer treatment. 

A nodule developed under my left mandible last summer. I went to urgent care for an ear infection in June and pointed the nodule out to the PA, and she said that was due to the ear infection.

The nodule became bigger, but I did not worry about it. My dad fell the first week of August and resulting injuries and complications confined him to the hospital and nursing home until he passed away on September 8. I was in Mississippi for a great deal of the month of August, and once while sitting with my brother I mentioned the nodule, and he said, “Look, I have had one under my ear for the past 15 years.” He went on to say that his doctor told him long ago not to worry about it, so I just decided not to worry about the knot in my neck.

During my annual physical in October I told my doctor about it and after a quick exam, he said that he was sending me to get a head scan right after my visit with him. That was when things started moving fast—needle biopsy on the salivary gland showed poorly differentiated carcinoma; CT scan of chest showed no metastasizing in the chest; surgery on November 15 to remove the left submandibular salivary gland and tumor; pathology report revealed mucoepidermoid carcinoma; another needle biopsy on right thyroid because a scan showed a spot on the gland; neck dissection surgery on December 6 to remove 19 lymph nodes and then post-surgery problems with a buildup of serum in the neck above the incision resulting in reopening of the incision two times to drain serum.

I will begin 6-7 weeks of proton therapy treatment at Emory Proton Center in midtown Atlanta on Thursday. Treatments will be every day Monday – Friday. Those who have tackled Atlanta traffic know those experiences can produce a lot of emotional stress, and at my age I want to avoid as much emotional stress as possible. Therefore, I will be staying overnight for much of my time in Atlanta so that I can be more productive with my work.

Many of you will remember that I had proton therapy treatment in Florida for my prostate cancer in 2012, and I was very pleased with that treatment and the minimal side effects. At that time there were only nine proton treatment centers in the USA, but now there are many more and Emory’s center opened a year ago. I am very pleased with my radiation oncologist at Emory. He is the head and neck professor at Emory. He gave me his mobile phone number and email address in our first consultation with him. How many doctors do that!? And, he answers texts within a few minutes of receiving them!

Cheryl and I have received a wealth of prayers and encouraging support from family and friends from all over the world. So many are continuing to ask for updates on my treatment, so I have decided to restart this blog and post periodic reports and stories during my 6-7 weeks of treatment. 

Thank you for your encouragement and prayer support during these days. I would be grateful to learn of prayer requests that you have, so Cheryl and I can intercede with you and for you. 

On the day before I learned that I had this cancer, I sent this verse to a friend who was having a difficult health challenge and the Lord has affirmed that I should claim Joshua 1:9 during this season: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”