November 28, 2001: Concern

Hi friends:

as you know from reading these updates we've been quite encouraged over the last few weeks by my recovery from the trauma of the stem cell transplant. I've been eating regularly and gaining energy every day, and haven't been nauseous in over three weeks now. Even a pretty deep chest cold wasn't slowing me down too much, and the doctors on the whole have been very optimistic about my prognosis.

Over the last 10 days or so, however, I began to notice an odd pain deep in my right hip (the opposite one from the "cancer hip" that led to my diagnosis last March). It wasn't much, but mentioned it to my oncologist anyway, and he didn't seem that concerned (thinking it might be something like arthritis exaggerated by all the drugs I've been on). Since Thanksgiving, however, the pain has grown in both consistency and severity and so on Monday I had xrays and an MRI done. I just returned from the doctors and the news is not good.

The preliminary signs are that there is more (and new) cancer-related damage in the pelvis around my right hip, and chances are that that means the cancer is continuing to grow and that the chemotherapy and the stem cell transplant have failed to stop/eliminate it. We won't have absolute confirmation until the first of the week when some more tests are in (I had blood work done today and will have another bone marrow biopsy on Monday as well as a 24-hour urine collection starting tomorrow), but there's enough of a concern to send out this note and ask you all for special prayer in the next few days.

This is a hard note to write. I've been feeling so optimistic lately, looking forward to the future, and glad to be past all the nasty therapies. Now, suddenly, we're looking back at that road again, and to be honest I don't know if I have the will to go down it again. I suppose we'll do what we have to do....

Anyway, please pray for us both in the next few days as we wait on the results of these new tests.

Thanks for being there for us. Remember those who have no one to turn to.

Dwight

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