About mid-September I noticed my neck was swollen on the left side. I had worked hard splitting and stacking wood a few days before and thought that maybe I had pulled or strained my neck muscles. I decided to call for a doctor’s appointment. They were able to get me in at noon. The doctor said I should have a CT scan and because of a cancellation I had the scan done that same day. God was moving things along quickly, yet, we waited a long time for the results to come back. The doctor’s face said it all; this was very serious. Later that week I had a biopsy. The following week the oncologist ordered a bone marrow biopsy and PET scan.
My wife, Linda, our daughter and I met with the oncologist the next week to get the tests results. He informed us I had stage 4 Mantle cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma. It is rare; only 7% of people with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma have this type of lymphoma. Then the oncologist proceeded to tell us basically my only option was an 18-week regiment of chemotherapy, which was not a cure just a treatment, that might buy me 3-4 years and then I’d have to do it all again. He explained the side effects I could expect and that my immune system would be seriously compromised.
We had made plans to have all our children and their families come to our home so we could tell them what the results were and to pray together. Two of our pastors came that night and we had a good time talking and praying together. Our extended family, church family and friends have been a great help and comfort to us along this journey as we prayed for wisdom and direction. We knew that chemotherapy wasn’t what we wanted to do and that there had to be more to offer than months, if not years, of weakness and a compromised immune system.
Linda and I set aside a week to pray and seek the Lord’s direction. Through friends and other associates we began to hear about alternative therapies. After investigating them and talking with people who had used these types of treatments we now had hope indeed that there was something other than chemotherapy. We decided to seek treatment at the Burzynski Clinic in Houston.
Linda and I set aside a week to pray and seek the Lord’s direction. Through friends and other associates we began to hear about alternative therapies. After investigating them and talking with people who had used these types of treatments we now had hope indeed that there was something other than chemotherapy. We decided to seek treatment at the Burzynski Clinic in Houston.
Linda and I have been married 38+ years most of which we spent on a dairy and crop farm. Now we manage a condominium together. Our 3 children, their spouses and 6 grandchildren (with one more on the way) are the delight of our ‘old age.’ It is with their help and encouragement and our extended family and friends we seek remission of this cancer.
This isn’t my first experience with cancer. In 1997, at the age of 50 I was diagnosed with a very rare melanoma in my right eye. I chose to have my eye removed. By God’s grace the cancer was contained in the eye and I didn’t have to undergo treatment then. We didn’t have health insurance but God made a way for us to be able to pay our bills off completely in approximately 2 years.
The scripture that was like a rock under our feet in the shifting sand of 1997 is still today our shelter in this storm.
“Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”Isaiah 41:10
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