Treatment update- Next phase

I began the next big stage of my treatment this week which includes a chemo pill taken one hour prior to a daily radiation treatment.  As I noted in the past, my surgery was seen as very successful by the doctors but not all cancer cells can be removed with surgery.  Thus, the next step is the chemo/radiation attack of the aggressive cancer cells that were left behind.

These are the chemo pills that I take every morning. Please pray they kill the cancer cells. 

God has truly blessed us with amazing doctors that we have connected with deeply.  My radiation doctor is only five minutes away from my in-laws house.  The office is super efficient in getting me in quickly and after 15 minutes I am done.  I have a daily appointment at 9:15 and we are often leaving at 9:40 - quick, no stress and back home!!  I was told by my doctor that if I was going to have some bad side effects from the chemo pill I would have seen it the first day or two.  After 4 days, I am feeling good.  Your prayers are working and I thank each of you of for your support of me and our family.

This is where I get radiation everyday at 9:15 a.m. Please pray that the radiation will hit the exact point in my brain where the cancer cells are lingering. 

I will continue this process for five more weeks and then an evaluation will be done by my oncologist to evaluate how well the treatment is working.  Continue to pray for limited or no side effects and that the current treatment would be destroying, weakening and confusing the cancer cells that still exist.  

Suffering is something we see promised us in the Bible.  Not wanted or desired but part of life in this fallen world.  Romans 8:35 says, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?"
I have seen God work out so many details, logistics, and grant His favor and grace to our family during the last five weeks that it would take me pages to list them.  I stole this well spoken quote from a John Piper devotional today that explains this well:

"We should not be surprised that God gives us wonderful graces in the midst of suffering that we had asked him to spare us. He knows best how to apportion his grace for our good and for his glory." (sorry I could not un-highlight this, I don't know how to do that)

We have been blessed by fun visits with many of our friends. The Stefflers are our friends from Mexico. They drove for 2 days from Texas just to visit us. 

We had a great time celebrating New Years Eve with our family. 

We have had a lot of quality family time doing regular stuff! 

We were even given the huge blessing of our dog. Our friends all worked very hard to get our dog ready for travel and then brought him to the US so we could all be together! 

God is good and we thank Him for his never-ending grace and mercy.    I love you all you and appreciate your support and prayers.