Author: sortlane1

Looking through past updates I can see it has been a bit since we last provided a picture of Sam’s cancer journey.  As I think about that, I think that is a wonderful reflection that there haven’t been too many surprises and we have just been working the problem.  Kind of like, no news is good news.  

There was a PET scan done right before his 4th round of chemo which showed promising results with his tumor being shrunk down considerably.  This has been a great encouragement that the cancer cells are reacting to the chemo just like the medical community would like to see.  

Tomorrow Sam starts chemo treatment number 5 of 6.  For some reason the thought of “No.5” conjures up this picture in my head of a mule, “good old No. 5”.  When Val and I celebrated the end of her chemo treatments, we rented a cabin in the mountains of north Georgia and spent a week in quiet solitude.  It was awesome.  One of the things we did on that trip was a horseback ride and me being a little on the larger side actually got to ride a mule, named Rose.  Mules are famous for being sure footed, even if they are a little stubborn.  This is the picture of Sam’s chemo treatments, sure footed even if they have been a little cantankerous.  

Each subsequent round has worn a bit more on Sam and it takes a little longer post chemo week to recover and get back energy.  Even with that, Sam & Grace continue to be active and definitely try to minimize the negative impact they have on their everyday lives.  Sam started back to work two weeks ago and is balancing his professional duties with treatment.  Fortunately he gets paid for his brain, so the actual work part has been manageable.  

It is wonderful and hard to believe we are rounding the “home stretch” of treatments. There will be another PET scan done after the 6th treatment.  Our prayer is that the tumor is completely gone and Sam can enter into a time of monitoring. The continued support of words, prayer and a helping hand are a wonderful encouragement and so much appreciated!

Prayer Requests:

1. That the cancer continues to respond well to the chemo
2. Wisdom & discernment on the professional front and how that works out with finishing his treatment plan.
3. Continued patience and grace between Sam & Grace as they step into this 5th round of treatment.

Today marks the start of round 3 of 6 of the chemo regimen for Sam.  Now that there are a couple of rounds of chemo under the belt we have a good baseline for understanding how his body responds.  When and how he feels icky, how to mitigate the ick, etc.  Life has transitioned into three week sprints of first week chemo, second week (first few days of the second week) feeling not so good and then a third week feeling decent before starting all over again.  As long as Sam does a good job of staying hydrated, he does pretty good overall.  When he doesn’t stay hydrated then things can get pretty wobbly (like actually wobbly).  He is also now completely bald and enjoying the resultant savings in their shampoo budget.  A good friend of his gave him a bottle of beard oil as a funny Christmas gift.  I am not sure he will ever be able to warrant the need for that, chemo or not.  Having the ability to grow a beard worthy of special oil just isn’t in the Gordon men’s genome.  

He has the first of two PET scans scheduled for the first week of January.  This scan will help determine how the tumor is responding to the treatment plan.  The second PET scan will come after treatment is all done to help level set what watching him looks like over the next months and years.  

Those of you who have “experience” with the medical system know that it takes a bit of time for all the various EOB’s, co-pays, bill’s, etc to come through all the channels before landing as an envelope in your mailbox saying how much you personally get to financially participate.  Well Sam and Grace have been at this long enough for some of these bills to come to roost so to speak.  Helping navigate all the financial rigmarole can get a little stressful.  Combine that with Sam being on Short Term Disability which will be transitioning to Long Term Disability soon.  Once he is on Long Term Disability his paycheck only gets covered at 60% and with how close we are to the end of the year, their insurance copays all get reset.  

When I asked him to share some prayer requests this is what I got back in a text message:

“A theme we’ve been thinking about is what does it actually look like to trust in God’s provision.  We’ve seen Him provide in a variety of ways up to this point but as we approach the New Year and reset insurance benefits and the change to long term disability, it’s hard to trust that He will provide financially in these areas.  We know money itself shouldn’t give us security, but being forced to lean on God for provision rather than our own strength is hard.  I think it’s highlighted at least for me that I idolize money more than I thought I did.”

That is a great lesson for me and I hope that as I share it with those of you following along on this journey, it will resonate with you as well.

So with that said, here are some additional prayer requests:

• Treatment continues to go as planned and we see great results
• Trust in God’s Provision – what Sam said

Sam is in that “middle time” between his first round of chemo and the start of the next. Those first few days afterward were tough—lots of achiness and low energy—but he’s perked up the last couple of days. He even helped me get my winter tires mounted this weekend. I did get a bit of a stern talking-to about how much I was going to let him help. And by the end of it, I was the one showing signs of “chemo brain,” so we got a good laugh out of that.

He has started losing his hair—really more like shedding at this point. This afternoon we’re taking him to get his head shaved, and his mom has requested a mohawk photo before it all comes off. That one should be fun to share.

He had his first in-office visit with his oncologist yesterday morning. Bloodwork still looks good, and we reviewed logistics for the upcoming treatments. It was a pretty uneventful visit, which is exactly what we hope for these days.

His next round of chemo is scheduled to begin Monday, December 1st. The only wrinkle right now is that his health insurance approvals haven’t fully come through yet. That held us back from mapping out all the future chemo dates and appointments. As someone who likes a solid schedule, that part is unnerving—but Sam and Grace handled it with so much calm, trusting that the pieces will fall into place.

We continue to be so proud of them. They’re facing everything with strength, honesty, courage, and deep faith. That doesn’t mean there aren’t hard moments, tears, and tough conversations—but they are leaning hard on their Heavenly Father and the people around them. It’s humbling and incredibly encouraging to watch, and we can see how God is answering one of their biggest prayers.

A few new prayer requests:

• That the health insurance approvals get aligned quickly and the next several months can be scheduled smoothly.
  
• Peace in the uncertainty as the next round of chemo begins.
  
• That symptoms are minimal for the next round of chemo and Sam remains physically strong.

Over the last week of Sam’s almost two weeks in the hospital, he was getting rather antsy about going home.  I was working to prepare him to not be too disappointed if the discharge process didn’t happen all that smoothly and to have some patience.  Well was I a little wrong (in a good way) on that front!  He texted at 10am on Friday that they were expecting to bust him out at 11am.  Val and I promptly drove down to the hospital to find him all unhooked from his PICC line and IV, organizing things only the way he can.  The nurse came in, went through the discharge instructions, gave a hug and we walked right out.  After all things “hospital” we have been through since he was admitted on November 3rd, that was by far one of the most welcomed of them!  

He is now trying to get some rest while alternately getting out for some exercise and movement when he feels good.  The Oncologist let us know this coming week is the one where he will feel the most icky and then the following week he should start to feel better before starting the next round of chemo on Monday, December 1st.  He and Grace will start to figure out the new rhythms of life where patience and encouragement will be in extra need.  Determining how both their work lives fits into this new pace will be important.  He is planning on trying to work some each day and I have been teasing him that we will need to triple check his static load calculations for a while!

Right now as they figure out this new, temporary normal here are a few prayer requests:

1. The chemo has the desired effect to kill those nasty cancer cells while also taking as little toll as possible on him.
2. Finding physical and mental rest while figuring out what their new “normal” looks like for the foreseeable future.
3. That they continue to live solidly in the present, continuing to lean on their Heavenly Father.

Sam has been tolerating the first round of chemo extremely well to date.  Side effects have been minimal with the biggest challenge being his taste being off and some swelling in his feet.  He did start a different chemo drug today, Rituxan which has had some more challenging side effects.  Swollen feet, some heaviness in the chest and thrush in the face.  They have been managing symptoms today by adjusting speed of delivery and also putting loads of prednisone and benadryl onboard.  

One other skill Sam has picked up is something we are calling “tube management”.  He has a PICC line installed for right now that will be replaced with a port in an outpatient procedure.  He has three different IV pumps hooked up and getting him anywhere requires some interesting gymnastics with all the cords, tubes, etc.  AKA Tube Management.

I must say watching Sam and Grace navigate this challenging time makes me extremely proud of them both.  While fully understanding how scary things are, their attitude has been beyond amazing.  They are well grounded and so, so strong both for each other and those around them.  That doesn’t mean there aren’t things that throw them for a loop or cause challenges, but it is to say they are processing things well and leaning on the Lord in a really cool way.

Regarding schedule, the plan is to bust Sam out of the hospital tomorrow sometime.  He is soooo ready to be home!  I already clued him in last night that the discharge process may take a little patience and could be frustrating with how long it will take.  Pray that all goes smoothly.  

The medical community has indicated that next week he will most likely not feel too well and have given him ideas and ways to help make him as comfortable as possible.  Their support group is on the case and working to help with meals, etc.  Pretty cool to see how so many people have rallied around them!  That includes both emotional and physical support!

One of the things Sam and I have been discussing early in his marriage is perspective and that experience (we call it mileage) helps with developing wisdom.  We talked about the fact that some of the mileage is uphill and that at those times we are really investing in developing wisdom.  Well, neither of us expected this kind of uphill mileage at this point in both their lives or their marriage.  I joked with him that they are getting a PhD in mileage very early on!  Which goes along with his prayer request that the Lord would not waste this situation.  It has been so great to see how even in the smallest things their attitude is providing them the opportunity to share their faith.  

Latest Prayer Requests

1. That this current round of chemo causes minimal challenges
2. That the discharge process from the hospital goes smoothly
3. That he and Grace get settled in at home well

Yesterday provided a clear treatment path and plan for the next 18 weeks.  Sam was officially diagnosed with primary mediastinal b-cell lymphoma.  This type of lymphoma is fast growing which also makes it very receptive to treatment.  The term “treatment to cure” is the philosophy Sam’s oncology team is taking.  We asked the doctor when this might have started and he was guessing more than two months but less than six.

The treatment plan is one continuous week of chemo and then two weeks off.  This will go for a total of six cycles.  His chemo week will be office appointments every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  The office appointment days will consist of getting the chemo started and sending him home with a very cool 90’s fanny pack which contains a pump and chemo to be run while he is at home.  

Our understanding is that the second week of each cycle will be the one where he feels the most tired and yucky.  Right now his goal is to continue his work at GMB while going through chemo.  His co-workers have been so supportive with helping take the burden off his mind of missing work.  

The first week treatment started yesterday (Saturday) and the medical community wants this first round to occur while admitted at the hospital.  That will allow Sam to be under some good observation and make sure he tolerates the treatment.  It also helps keep an eye on that crazy blood clot in his neck.  So the current plan is to keep him in the hospital for the time being with an expected discharge on Friday 11/14.  Sam has so far been doing good with visitors, which has helped break up the monotony.  Please feel free to visit him this week, just check in a little bit before heading over to make sure he is up for a visit.

Prayer requests:

1. That Sam would not be discouraged as he figures out that his limits are narrower than he would like.
2. Sam responds well to the chemo treatment.  That it has the desired results and the side effects are minimal.
3. Patience for both Sam and Grace.  And especially patience with each other.
4. That God would glorify Himself through all of this and be made much of!

Well, this is hard to comprehend but we are back to the fight again. This time not with Val, but with Sam.

Back in the middle of October, the family got together to celebrate my Dad’s birthday. At that gathering, Sam mentioned he had some tightness in his face and a little stiffness in his neck. The symptoms got worse over the next few days which prompted a visit to Urgent Care. They thought it was a viral infection and would clear up on its own. Over the next few days the swelling increased and he was noticeably uncomfortable.

A visit to his Primary Care Physician was scheduled for the middle of the following week. At the visit, the Doc ordered up an ultrasound of the neck to get a better picture of what may be causing the swelling and stiffness. Trying to get that ultrasound scheduled sooner rather than later was a challenge, but he successfully got on the schedule for the following week. He didn’t make it to the next week before the symptoms got much worse. He woke up on Saturday, October 25th to increased chest pain and swelling. His wife Grace, wisely encouraged a trip to the ER. When you enter the ER with chest pain, you get everyone’s attention pronto. During that process, he underwent a CT scan, and a large mass was found in his chest cavity sitting on his heart.

Now that we had that figured out, it was time to get some insight into what we were dealing with. Three main tests were scheduled; a CT scan of his entire body, an echocardiogram of his heart, and a biopsy of the mass. The first two happened no problem, getting the biopsy scheduled with Interventional Radiology was a bugger. He never made it to the biopsy before another trip to ER.

On Monday, November 3rd his neck was very distended with very pronounced swelling in his face. We were getting good at figuring out this whole ER admission process, so back he went. Another CT was done specifically on his neck, and a “no kidding” large blood clot was found in his jugular vein. That situation is what got him admitted to the hospital on Monday.

The biopsy we waited for finally occurred on Thursday of this past week and the results came back yesterday as primary mediastinal b-cell lymphoma.

Treatment will start with chemo, specifically for you medical types it is R-EPOCH. This will be administered over the course of a week and then have two weeks off. There will be a total of six rounds of chemo with PET scans at the halfway point and also at the end.

Trying to keep everyone informed is always a challenge and so we encourage you to sign up for this blog. You can adjust your settings to get informed when a new update gets posted.

Things to pray for this coming week:

1.) That Sam handles the start of chemo well.

2.) That Sam, Grace and the rest of us have strength and peace.

3.) That we don’t waste this opportunity to glorify God and make us more like His Son!

Many of you who know me, know that I tote along a black Moleskin notebook most of the time. In that black book get written all sorts of things from business notes and ideas, church happenings to personal thoughts and last but not least my “prayer connectors” list. Each notebook gets a volume number and date attached to it and they have been an invaluable resource in helping with keeping all things “Marc Gordon” running straight. Please, please if you ever find one of these in an errant location, know that it’s owner is probably freaking out and if you could get it back safely that would be much appreciated.

Well several weeks back I was flipping through the past year of notes and I came to realize that this coming week marks two different anniversaries on this journey with Val. The first anniversary marks the 5th year since her diagnosis of breast cancer. The details of that day back in 2016 when she called with the news are still vivid and it is hard to believe it has been that long already! The second anniversary this week marks one year from when we brought her home from her final stomach surgery. The details of busting her out of the hospital in the midst of a pandemic are also pretty fresh!

In all of that looking back it is wonderful to see the way that Lord has carried us through very trying times. Times that were strain beyond measure, when hard questions were asked and the future very unknown. Her health continues to be strong and she lives a more normal life than we could every have imagined. When I look at my wife, I see strength beyond measure and am so blessed that she is still here. I have noticed lately being even more appreciative of the little things that she does and have enjoyed thanking her more.

When I closed out this blog post from a year ago I wrote the following:

“Both Val and I continue to live solidly in the present, enjoying the littler things in life and time spent with each other.  We also have continued to grow in our faith that the Lord is not surprised and He has all things under His control.  Believe me, I know that doesn’t mean life always smells like roses.  There has been plenty of loss in our family for me to know otherwise.  There is a resolve though, knowing that ultimately He is working to make us all more like His Son.  That is definitely a process each one of us on our own journey can attest to and appreciate.”

I can honestly say that the sentiment written above holds truer today in March of 2021. It has been important for me to remain grounded in the fact that the Lord doesn’t promise that life will be easy, He just promises to walk through it with us. That in the process of that journey, it is ok to question and have struggles and anxiety about what the future holds. That He can handle those questions and love us still all the more, ultimately molding us to be more like His Son, to have an impact on this world for His Kingdom.

So, once again if you find one of those black books lost somewhere look in the front cover because all the contact information in the world is listed there in order to get it back to it’s owner safely. And also realize that small disciplines might seem little and of not much importance at the time but that over time they provide a rich blessing.

Much love: Marc & Valerie

Thursday afternoon I received a text message from my wife letting me know I could come bust her out of the hospital.  The doctors had pulled her drain, IV and were happy with her overall recovery, it was time to send her home.

Due to the COVID-19 situation, it was kinda of interesting and surreal at the same time to coordinate her pick-up.  At the appointed time, I arrived at the hospital’s main entrance with a circular drive and then called to await further instruction.  She answered right away and let me know to pull forward.  We got her all loaded into the car and whisked her away, it was probably 3 minutes tops.  The only thing that could of been more interesting would have been provided a drive-up speaker to place my order!  “I’ll have a number 1 please, with extra packets of love”….

She arrived safely at home and has been nicely sequestered to keep her away from the nasty bugs.  The main side effect other than being tired is a little soreness.  Which is pretty amazing given she had major surgery on Tuesday.  She even managed to drive a little yesterday.  When I put up a little fuss about her doing that, her answer was as long as she was off her opioid pain killers, she was good to go.

Yesterday the surgeon called to let us know pathology came back with no signs of cancer cells in the portion they trimmed off, which is a major blessing!  Out an abundance of caution, we are having Val’s regular oncologist set us up for an appointment with an oncologist specializing in gastric cancer.  The goal being to get a second opinion regarding any follow-up treatment that may be prudent.  Our prayer is that visit goes well and the recommendation is for no further treatment other than monitoring.

Overall this whole process has been interesting and I need to sit and ponder the life lessons gained from this latest health situation.  That will probably need to take place over the span of some time as things calm down from our present world wide health situation.  Right now with so much in flux it is hard to sit and ponder.

Both Val and I continue to live solidly in the present, enjoying the littler things in life and time spent with each other.  We also have continued to grow in our faith that the Lord is not surprised and He has all things under His control.  Believe me, I know that doesn’t mean life always smells like roses.  There has been plenty of loss in our family for me to know otherwise.  There is a resolve though, knowing that ultimately He is working to make us all more like His Son.  That is definitely a process each one of us on our own journey can attest to and appreciate.

We will continue to keep you posted as this journey continues and please, please know how appreciative we are for all the love and prayers!

Marc & Valerie