Prayer

Many of you have already heard what's been going on, but for those who don't here's what we know so far: Ken was diagnosed with testicular cancer last Friday afternoon following an ultrasound that detected a cancerous mass on the right testicle. He's going in for surgery this afternoon (2:30pm) to have an orchiectomy. (removal of the right testicle) We might hear results from the biopsy by the end of the week to determine the kind of cancer cells that make up the mass, and approximate staging. CT scans of his abdomen and chest will follow once he's recovered a little more (apparently it'll be about 7-10 days before he's walking around well again, 6 weeks of full recovery, about 2 months before he can start working out and almost no lifting in between.) The CT scans can tell us if there is any metastasis that's happened, and we'll then know what treatment is best suited to treat it; be it chemo or radiation. Honestly, we are praying neither! The absolute ideal in this situation would be to find out it has been caught early (stage I), and that the cancer was confined solely to the testicle that's being removed. In that case - this surgery would virtually be the beginning of the end of treatment; he would go in for routine checkups every month or two for the next few years to be sure none of the cancer has come back or grown elsewhere. If we're at a different stage, the cure/treatment rates are still very high. (Often in the upper 90%-tile) We have been told numerous times, "If you're going to get cancer, this is THE cancer to get because it has the most favorable outcomes and we have every reason to hope Ken will be fine."

Ken remains in massively high spirits with a huge determination to fight this. I'm right there with him. We have been utterly humbled and touched to the core by the outpouring of prayer and love and support... the meals, the calls, the messages, help with the kids and knowing how lifted up we have been. We cannot tell you how immeasurable your encouragement and love is. So many conversations have centered around the tangible love of Christ we feel through the Body --- you guys are amazing and we love you so much!!

Ken will be home from the hospital later this evening/tonight, Lord willing - and on the road to recovery. :) I asked him what it feels like to be told you have testicular cancer. He gave the analogy that it's kinda like having an unfamiliar dog come up to you and you are apprehensive because you don't know if it's going to bite you, but you keep thinking it's probably going to be fine. He cracks way too many jokes about soon having one nut, but it gives you an idea of the high spirits he's in. ;) And just for those who might be wondering... his body will operate just the same with one testicle as it would with two; it's like having a kidney removed. The other one just takes over. To our knowledge, there is no family history of cancer, so this was very shocking news, especially at this stage in life. He's 30 yrs old, healthy, active... we never would have seen this coming. Our prayer at the start of this new year was that our faith would be stretched in deep ways, and we'd learn to live "well" not just survive this crazy time of life with toddlers, jobs, house projects & grad school plans. We could not have thought this would be the way God would grow us and stretch us, but already, we are seeing God do those very things in our hearts and it has been good. There is nothing like being confronted with the reality of our limited-ness, that takes you quicker to your knees and in an utter reliance on the Lord.. for strength, for increased faith, for hope. It has changed our perspective and been a wake up call for how we have prioritized things. Naturally, I think it has grown us closer together too. It's like a layer- or multiple layers - have been peeled back to show us how to love even deeper... better, and treasure one another like never before. With much love and an appreciation for each of you & all of the prayers, thank you so much. I'll probably update again in a few days after surgery...