My initial reason for going to the Doctor back in April was for a growth behind my right ear. It was not there long before someone noticed it. The original diagnosis was some type of scar. I asked for a referral to a Dermatologist to have if examined or removed. That is when he took the biopsy off the growth. A week later was when the news came that it was a sign of cancer. The actual definition is Type B Lymphoma. One day after round two of treatment and that growth is basically gone. It simply disappeared. Such a change really amazes me.

My Lymphoma is not a tumor based cancer. It is different from colon, breast or other forms that take the shape of large tumors. This illness is one based on white blood cells going amok. Doctors do have theories on how this happens. We still have no real explanation as to its origin. Like my doctor says, it matter less how long it was there but matters more than we get rid of it. I am taking the sign of the original growth going away as a statement that the treatment is also working as well on the inside. That seems to be the consensus of those at the cancer clinic. Now we don't know just how well it may be doing yet. Blood work reports do look good. Results are showing that the chemo is affecting the blood cells as needed. For one or two weeks the counts go down then rebound so we can do the next round.

Most scientists call my disease incurable but treatable. That does not really bother me too much. Since my diagnosis I found sources of good and trustworthy information on this cancer. I mentioned that almost every day is a new report of an upcoming breakthrough to gain even better benefits in curing this thing. Some of these may be a few years down the road. Some are still in early stages of study. The point is that the area of medicine holds very real promise to not just treat but reach some type of cure. This is a blood disease. Right now the possibilities of therapy are just beginning to get exciting.

So is there really a reason to pray with this news? Shouldn't just the science alone be enough to bring peace into this problem. My answer is of course no. We wrote recently about dealing with prayer and healing. Now I am no great fan of television healers. But there is room in my theology for a God who can restore to health. What I do is actually pray that God will help my medicines to do even more than normal. My body is His body. I pray that He will also help me directly during this process. Miracles by their definition are rare. We tend to call daily blessings as a miracle. Maybe we become so content with that we miss out on the really big stuff God might do. My motto remains to look for a healthy response by medicine or miracle. I will do all I can physically to let the drugs do their thing. I will also do all that I can spiritually to allow God to have the freedom to act. Just remember that God wants to do more than heal our diseases. He also wants to be turned loose in all that we do and are.

Bro. Trey