Dear friends,

I have some sobering news.  I had a PET scan on Tuesday and it appears that the rib tumor is trying to make a comeback.  My original treatment plan had just 4 rounds of chemo, and then immunotherapy after that.  While the chemotherapy worked well, it appears that the immunotherapy has not been as effective as was hoped.

As you can see in the images, the rib tumor was basically absent in the March 30^th image, but has reappeared in the image from this week (July 1^st).

We met with my oncologist this morning.  Since the chemo was effective last Fall, and the tumor is now much smaller than it was back then, he is very hopeful that it will be effective again.  While we will do another Next Generation Sequencing test to determine the genetics of the tumor, he expects that it will not have changed significantly since the first time.  So the same chemo treatment should still be effective.  Tentatively, we plan 6 rounds this time, instead of the 4 we had before.  We will likely start next Thursday.

I’m in much better shape this time than I was last time.  Last time, I was still struggling with serious complications from my pleural effusion, and the big infection I had.  This time, I’m in generally good health, much stronger, and doing well except for the remaining rib pain. The lung tumor has not returned.

All this to say, there is a lot of reason for hope.

But my hope is not just in technology.  Our God is the Maker of heaven and earth (a Hebrew idiom for everything!) and He does whatever He wants.  Man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Deuteronomy 8:3, Matthew 4:4).  This means that if God says I will live, then I will live.  We have already experienced legitimate miracles during our journey, and I am confident that we will experience more.  God isn’t finished with me yet!

Once I start my new treatment, I expect to be tired and somewhat immunocompromised, so I’ll need to stay close to home again.  My energy permitting, I’d love to hang out with you in the warm sun in my backyard. 

If you are a praying person, I would of course love to have your continued prayers.

Don’t fear, but be smart,
Erik

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You can read all of my cancer updates here.