PET/CT Scan Update

Hi Everyone,
Paul and I met with Dr. Berlin yesterday and she gave me the report on the PET/CT scan. I had thought that this scan would definitely give me a scoop on the implants etc. However, because I had surgery in May, it complicates things. For those of you
who don't know how a PET scan works - here's my understanding. (For those of you who do, please forgive my rather simplistic understanding....) I had to drink radioactive glucose after fasting for 6 hours. I waited one hour and then I had a CT Scan (real
quick one) and then the PET scan. The PET scan picks up places in my body that have a rapid uptake of glucose. Many parts of the body have this - like the kidneys, ureters, heart. But most other places done. This places with rapid uptake light up on the grayish image as bright spots. They look at these places (other than the ones they know should be bright like the heart, for example) on the CT scan to see if they match anything on the CT scan - if they do, then this could be cancer. Inflammation can light up - and since I am 3 months post surgery, there's a good chance I have inflammation in the abdominal area which then makes it harder to determine what is cancer and what is not. So, here is what they found.

There were 3 spots on the liver but these did not show on the CT scan so they seem to indicate metastatic disease but this can't be confirmed. There was rapid uptake along the transverse colon which could also indicate metastatic disease but could be
inflammation from the surgery or from the injection sites from the lovenox. The implant that showed up in the CT scan in July has grown in size and had rapid uptake so this is recurrent disease. Dr. Berlin feels it was always there, only now it can been seen by the CT scan. There was a large neoplasm (new growth) on the thyroid - I had half of my thyroid removed many years ago because of nodules, and there is a new growth on the remaining portion of the thyroid which needs to be followed up with an ultrasound, which I will be having on September 8. There were other sites which they felt were inflammation from the hernia repair. So over all, there is a small amount of recurrent disease but it is not widespread. My CA-125 is at 39 (out of the normal range), so it has really gone up quite a bit - it doubled in one month. She said that this increase is not related to the amount of the disease that is present, but rather to the increase in cellular activity that produces a protein that this blood test measures. She recommended getting another blood test to see how the CA-125 is doing. If it is up to 75, then we need to proceed with treatment. If it levels out, then we can wait. She gave me information about a clinical trial, which looks manageable but if I go on this, I cannot take any herbs - which is concerning. Please pray about the direction we should take. WHile I was disappointed at the
results, I was also rejoicing at what the Lord has done. He is the great physician. I feel that I need to be more strict with the diet - I have been having more fruit that I should - and, by the Lord's grace, I will try to eliminate more inflamation-producing foods. This is a challenge but His grace is sufficient. Dr. Berlin said that I need to stay busy and realize that our goal is to keep the cancer stable and not increasing. My goal is to live to be 90!

My mom is coming to live with us soon, so that will keep me busy. We are still trying to finish up the house - it has been so challenging. I feel like I live in a rubic's cube - we keep switching the contents of rooms around from one place to another. I now have a ceiling in the living room! We will make some alterations to the living room and the bathroom to accommodate my mom when she comes.

Here are some "breadcrumbs" that I have been enjoying lately:

Recently I heard something about Ephesians 2:10, which really was quite profound. Here's the verse:

Ephesians 2 : 10

10 For we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand in order that we would walk in them.

The question was asked, why does it say at the end of the verse - that we should walk in them? Why not, work in them? It is really interesting to realize that we were created in Christ Jesus for good works - but not any good works - not good works that I think God would appreciate, but the good works that He has prepared beforehand...so we can walk in them. It's not our effort, our doing, but just our being one with the Lord to do His will. Isn't that wonderful?

Another wonderful type in the Old Testament is the compound ointment. I was speaking with a friend recently about how we have all that God is in our spirit when we receive the Lord. This is represented by the compound ointment in Exodus 30:23-25:

23 You also take the finest spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, two hundred fifty shekels, and of fragrant calamus two hundred fifty shekels,

24 And of cassia five hundred shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.

25 And you shall make it a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded according to the perfumer's art; it shall be a holy anointing oil.

Here is an excerpt about this wonderful ointment and how it applied to us:

THE COMPOUNDED SPIRIT—THE COMPOUND SPIRIT TYPIFIED BY THE COMPOUND OINTMENT

The compounded Spirit is the compound Spirit typified by the compound ointment (Exo. 30:22-31). An ointment is composed of some elements compounded with oil. In the old edition of the Newberry Bible, there is a note in Exodus 30 that says the anointing oil refers to the Holy Spirit. The Newberry Bible was put out by the open Brethren. The Lord went on to show us that the Spirit, typified by the ointment, is a compound Spirit. The Brethren saw that the anointing ointment in Exodus 30 is the Holy Spirit, but they did not see that this Holy Spirit, as typified in Exodus 30, is a compound Spirit. This Spirit is compounded with a number of elements.
Man and God Compounded Together

The compound ointment is composed first of a hin of olive oil. Then four spices are added to the oil. These spices, or elements, are myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, and cassia. When these four elements are blended with the oil, they become a compound ointment. The one hin of olive oil is compounded with four elements. The number one refers to the unique God, and the number four refers to the creatures. Among the creatures, man takes the lead, so we can say that the number four refers to man. Man is typified by the four spices of the plant life. The compounding of the four spices with the oil signifies that man and God are compounded together.

Flowing Myrrh—the Sweet Death of Christ

Flowing myrrh refers to the sweet death of Christ. His death is a positive death. The only death in the whole universe that is positive is Christ’s death. The death of Christ is sweet.

Sweet Cinnamon—the Sweet Effectiveness of Christ’s Death

Sweet cinnamon typifies the sweet effectiveness of Christ’s death. The positive death of Christ signified by myrrh is very fragrant, full of cinnamon. Cinnamon adds flavor and sweetness to food. If we are not experiencing Christ’s death, our life is not very sweet. When a husband and wife quarrel, that is not sweet. How can they neutralize such a situation? They need to put the death of Christ into their marriage life. Then their marriage life will be sweet. If a person does not have the cross in his daily life, it will be hard to get along with him. The sweet death of Christ needs to be added to our daily life.

Sweet Calamus—the Power of Christ’s Resurrection

The third element added to the oil is sweet calamus, which signifies the power of Christ’s resurrection. Calamus is a reed that grows in a marsh or a muddy place. Even though it grows in a marsh, it is able to shoot up into the air. According to the sequence of the spices, calamus signifies the rising up of the Lord Jesus from the place of death. The Lord was put into a marsh, into a death situation, but in resurrection He rose up and stood up.

Cassia—the Flavor of the Power of Christ’s Resurrection

Cassia signifies the flavor of the power of Christ’s resurrection. In ancient times, cassia was a repellent to insects and snakes. Only the power of the resurrected Christ can repel all the evil “insects” and especially the old serpent, the devil.

The Triune God Typified by the Three Units of Five Hundred Shekels

In the compound ointment, there are five hundred shekels of myrrh, two hundred fifty shekels of cinnamon, two hundred fifty shekels of calamus, and five hundred shekels of cassia. In between the five hundred shekels of myrrh and the five hundred shekels of cassia are two items of two hundred fifty shekels. These two added together form one unit of five hundred shekels. Eventually, we may say that there are three units of five hundred shekels in the compound ointment. The middle unit is split into two parts. This is very meaningful. Among the Three of the Trinity, the Son, typified by the second unit of five hundred shekels, was “split,” crucified, on the cross. The three units of five hundred shekels typify the Triune God, and the Triune God went to the cross in the second person of His Trinity, in the Son.

Here is a hymn I really enjoy about the wonderful Spirit. It is important to realize that today the Lord is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17: And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.)


1 O Lord, Thou art in me as life
And everything to me!
Subjective and available,
Thus I experience Thee.
Chorus
O Lord, Thou art the Spirit!
How dear and near to me!
How I admire Thy marvelous
Availability!

2 To all my needs both great and small
Thou art the rich supply;
So ready and sufficient too
For me now to apply.

3 Thy sweet anointing with Thy might
In weakness doth sustain;
By Thy supply of energy
My strength Thou dost maintain.

4 Thy law of life in heart and mind
My conduct regulates;
The wealth of Thy reality
My being saturates.

5 O Thou art ever one with me,
Unrivaled unity!
One spirit with me all the time
For all eternity!

So for all my needs, both great and small He is the rich supply. I am learning to allow the Spirit to take control and to cast all my cares upon the One upon whom I live.

Praise Him!

Much love,
Joanne

update - and God's thoughts

Hello everyone,
August 19
So sorry for the delay in writing. I have been in New York helping care for my mom who was in the intensive care unit. She is doing better but is still in the hospital.

I have a PET/CT scan today which will help clarify some spots on the CT scan that looked like recurrences. I will meet with Dr. Berlin next week (the 26th) to discuss the scans. My CA-125 went up again but I don't have the number.

I began writing a blog entry last week before my mom was hospitalized. Here is what I started writing. I will try to be more regular with these entries as time, life, and the Lord permits.

August 12
It's been quite a while since I last posted. I apologize for the delay. After the wedding, we went to Atlanta to attend the reception there and also see Anna and Stephen's apartment. I wanted to have a picture in my mind of Anna in her new place. We stayed with a couple that I used to live with in New York back in 1975-77. It was so good to see them - it had been quite a number of years - 8 or 9 - since we'd seen them last - but it was like we had never been apart. That's how it is in the Body of Christ - we are members of one another. I saw the naturopathic doctor and he reported that my July blood tests showed a huge increase in several growth factors in my blood, which would confirm the findings of the CT scan. He changed the protocol with the hope that we can bring down these growth factor levels quickly. I saw the neuro muscular doctor about elbow pain and he said that I needed an MRI to understand what is going on - the elbow looked fine in the x-ray but the MRI is of my neck since bulging disks can cause nerve pain that is similar to what I am experiencing. That was quite the experience - it is so loud! Next Friday the 15th I have another CA-125 blood test and also I meet with a nutritionist. Should be interesting....Please pray that these herbal remedies work to bring down those growth factors in my blood so that the cancer cells will not be able to use them to grow and metastasize.

One morning I began to consider God's thoughts. I remembered the verse in Jeremiah 29:11:

Jeremiah 29:11

11 For I know the thoughts that I think about you, declares Jehovah, thoughts of peace and not for evil, to give you a latter end and a hope.

Jeremiah prophesied that when the seventy years of exile were fulfilled, Jehovah would visit the children of Israel and bring them back to the holy land. His thoughts about them were thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give them a latter end and a hope (vv. 10-14).

There are two verses in Psalm 139 that also speak about God's thoughts:

Psalm 139:17-18:
17 And how precious are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!
18 If I should count them, they would be more than the sand. When I awake, I am still with You.

The psalmist valued God's thoughts - he said they were precious to him.

Isaiah also prophesied concerning the past and the future: Isaiah 43:18-19 says
18 Do not call to mind the former things, Nor consider the things of old.
19 Indeed, I am doing a new thing; It will now spring forth; Do you not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert.

In Philippians 3:13, Paul tells us "Brothers, I do not account of myself to have laid hold; but one thing I do: Forgetting the things which are behind and stretching forward to the things which are before,

We without God often live in the past - past wrongs, past glories, past knowledge, but we live in the past. We remember things about people that we should forget - we often hold onto offenses and many times we mourn past actions and behaviors. I am so happy that the Lord does not deal with us by shaming us about our past. His thoughts which number more than the sand on the seashore are about a hopeful future. That's why the Apostle Paul had to determine to forget the things which are behind and stretch forward to the things which are before. How much we need to spend our days pursuing Christ - running the race to lay hold of the prize.

Daniel also was one who joined himself to God's thoughts. The issue was Daniel 9. His prayer was God's prayer. We too can join ourselves to God's thoughts - and when that happens we will pray - here's an excerpt of Watchman Nee:

Brothers and sisters, if we come to God and remain calm before Him, giving up our thoughts to enter into His thoughts, we will see the great need for prayer, we will see that God is waiting for us to pray about so many things, and we will see that everything around can become the subject of our prayer. In fact the whole earth can become the subject of our prayer. We should not pray according to our feelings. We must mingle our desires with God's desires and allow God's desires to become our desires, groanings, and yearnings for the universe. God's desires cannot be released without first passing through man, and God's desires, when expressed through man's desires, will be opposed by the power of Satan. In order to fulfill God's desire, we have to pray, and in order to remove Satan's frustration, we have to pray. We have to exercise the authority of prayer and release what should be released and bind what should be bound. We should not pray according to our own desire; we should go to the Lord and pray according to the desire that He has imprinted in us. When God says that something is needed, we should say the same, and when He says that something cannot remain, we should also say the same. We should forget about ourselves and touch God's desire and express His desire through our prayer.

Much love to you all,
Joanne