Most readers will know that I am currently in chemotherapy for pancreatic cancer. The goal of the therapy is to shrink a mass so that it can be surgically removed.
This past week was my second chemo cycle. I offer the following for your consideration as you pray for me through this process. The chemo cycle/pattern appears to be five days of misery (Wed through Sunday for me) followed by nine days wherein I feel much better and am functional. Then the cycle repeats.
Anyone who has undergone chemo, or who has watched someone go through chemo, will understand this description. Without the nuts and bolts details, the main issues are nausea, dehydration, and weight loss. Aside from praying that the entire process results in elimination of the tumor, please pray that my nine “good” days allow me to eat and gain weight for the next round. This is crucial for endurance and general productivity (I can’t watch football and baseball 24-7!).
This past round I began to experience neuropathy (lack of functionality of my fingers/hands). It is intermittent and brief when evident. My doctors will be monitoring this (it’s a common side effect of chemo) and adjusting the chemotherapy if needed. Obviously, I need to be able to type and use my hands to be at all productive, so pray about this as well.
Please pray for my wife, the indispensible person in all of this. She sustains me in every way. Pray also for John Phelps, the Dean of the Awakening School of Theology, who also has cancer (diagnosed a couple weeks after I was). His cancer is of a different type. Please pray that his treatment succeeds as well. Lastly, we’re blessed at the school to have Britnie keeping the whole thing running, Dr. Justin Bass to cover my New Testament apologetics class, and Mike Chu of the Divine Council Worldview Facebook Group helping out in student Q & A sessions. Pray that their efforts are appreciated and successful!
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Dr. Michael Heiser