Dear Praying Friends,
Thank you for your
faithful prayers and the many encouraging responses we received from
our 8-8-02 and prior updates. We are so grateful and blessed by them.
Yesterday was a
grim reminder that I am at war and must always be vigilant. I have a
brand-new battle to face so my warfare strategy is taking another turn
immediately. We have always been told that metastatic kidney cancer
(stage IV, the final stage) is very unpredictable. The lungs, bones,
and even the brain are at risk. Regular CT scans, bone scans and brain
MRIs have been monitoring that. My primary (the kidney) had already
spread 8-9 tumors to my lungs by the time we caught it in December.
Even with the cancer source removed it can still potentially spread
anywhere at anytime.
The experimental
drugs at USC/Norris that I took in February were successful only in
perhaps slowing the growth in my lung tumors. At least we thought that
was case until my scan in June revealed the larger lung tumor growing
again. That is when we took measures to get involved in another clinical
trial (experimental drugs) in order to do something. Although we have
seen progress in the past, it was in no way to be considered in remission.
Here is the news:
My MRI yesterday revealed a brand-new tumor in one of my right-side
ribs where it joins the spine (at T12 for you medical types). It is
3 cm. (about one and quarter inches) and is growing into my nerve there
as well as already beginning to destroy the bone. This is the reason
for the extreme pain.
Immediate and drastic
action is required before this new foe completely debilitates me. I
have therefore postponed the clinical trial at UCSF and will instead
start a 9-session radiation therapy locally on the new tumor next Tuesday
in hoping to completely eradicate it.
It appears that
we are now getting the pain under control with additional medication
so I am still planning to make the trip to the Far East with my son.
If everything goes according to plan, I will finish my last radiation
therapy on Thursday, August 22, in time to drive to the airport and
catch our late night flight to Manila.
Again, Becky re-enters
the RN program on Wednesday so she has some busy days ahead of her.
Thank you for your prayers for her.
You all mean so
much to us. God bless you.
Resting on Him,
Doug Sutherland
P.S. This morning
in my quiet time I read the following encourages verses:
Psalms 84:5-7 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set
their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with
pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God
in Zion.
