Photo Contest and More …

Let me begin by thank all of you voted or tried to vote during the week after I posted by photos. With your support my photo of the two red-footed boobies has made it in to the final round! Here are the details from NWF on the final round of voting; which begin on July 24th.

The top 4 vote-getters of each weekly contest will compete in the final round, July 24 – August 6. The photo with the most votes in the final round will be named the People’s Choice and will appear in the December 2012/January 2013 issue of National Wildlife and online.

I am guessing there will be about 80 photographs in the final round. you can see the people choice winners to date by visiting their web site (http://www.nwf.org/PhotoContest/PhotoContestHome.aspx?search=true&sort=VOTE_BY_WEEK). The direct link to my photo is http://www.nwf.org/PhotoContest/ViewPhoto.aspx?imageid=358645. Hope you will all be able to vote again between July 24th and August 6th. The winner will be announced on August 7th.

Two Red-footed Boobies building their nest.

In addition to commenting on my photographs a number of you took the opportunity to ask how Mary is doing. It has been five years since Mary was diagnosed with breast cancer. I won’t rehash the whole journey (see https://mthurmond.wordpress.com/ for that.) It seems that each time she approaches a milestone, where you could say it is all behind us, the cancer is still hanging around. Scans in late December and early January showed fluid in her right lung. Investigation (they drained the fluid) revealed breast cancer cells in the fluid. So it was back to chemotherapy.

At first the doctors recommended an oral form of treatment. Sounds easy, take a few pills and the cancer goes away. Unfortunately the oral medication had some truly obnoxious side-effects. Should have known, when the pill bottle warns you to wash your hands after taking the drug and not to let others handle the pills; we are dealing with some serious stuff. After about two weeks that approach was dropped and we went back to intravenous drugs.

She has now finished three rounds of treatment and a new set of scans has been made. The doctors will share later this week what the scans revealed. The plan at present is to do three more treatments; then repeat the scan. Each treatment is three weeks; drugs once a week on the first two weeks, then a week off. That will bring us to early September.

This all sounds rather intimidating but in reality it is not too bad. I know, easy for me to say. But really, the side effects are minimal and other than getting tired Mary is doing well. So I would just ask that you keep her in your prayer. We know you have been doing that because without it this would be a tougher journey.

Our love to each of you and your families. May the peace and grace of Christ fill your life.

Mike

A Change

Life is about changes. Some change is good, some change we understand, some change will challenge us and some change is just change. Watching radiation treatment is a lot like that. I can’t detect much of a change and Mary hasn’t reported lots of change, which I suppose is a good thing, but it is changing.

For one thing the days left in the treatment process are decreasing. I think it is safe to say that we have passed the halfway point. Earlier in the week the doctor reported that treatment for the Hodgkin’s was nearing completion. By next week they will only be treating for the breast cancer. Then last night Mary reported that they have changed the orientation of the radiation treatment. I guess this means we have indeed moved to a new phase of the treatment.

Two noticeable side effects from the radiation are worth mentioning. The most significant is an irritation of the throat. This has made swallowing difficult for Mary. It is not that she can’t swallow as much as it is a lingering sore throat. As a result she prefers softer foods that are less of an irritant. The less significant effect is that what e called the chemo cough has returned. Good news is that these should fade away once the radiation is complete. We are hopeful that completion of the Hodgkin’s treatment will decrease the irritation to the throat, since that treatment was focused on the breast bone.

Another area of change is Long Beach, Mississippi and the Gulf Coast in general. It is now eleven months since my first trip to this area since Katrina. In that time our church has made numerous tips, at least 8, to the area. We are seeing change but it is slow. I haven’t been here since last November. Our small group got in late last night, so it will be interesting to see what has changed when we go out this morning. Changes, improvements are slow to come but they are coming. The speed of the change challenges us to continue our efforts. As a society we have come to expect results, on our timetable, usually quickly. Some change takes time. Like treatment for cancer, rebuilding after such a devastating event takes time. There is so much to be done that it can be overwhelming.

In the end we must trust in God and rejoice in the small steps that we are able to accomplish and see first hand. Our faith must be in God, who uses all things for good; when we work on His time table and not our own.

May the grace and peace the comes from knowing God be with you.

Radiation

Mary and I have spoken with many of you since my last message in mid January. Still there are many of you that we don’t get to see on a regular basis and I feel I have gotten behind in keeping you informed. You prayers, thoughts (each is a prayer), cards and even phone calls are an essential part of Mary’s progress. Your support and love keep us going. So let me try to bring you up-to-date. Personally I find it easier to prayer when I know what is going on.

At the end of January we sat down with the oncologists, Mary’s primary doctor and the radiation specialist. They had reviewed records and consulted with a number of the recognized leaders in breast cancer treatment. The conclusion was that, although chemo-therapy had been highly successful, it was still best to follow up with radiation. Better to treat now and minimize the risk of a recurrence than to stop now. In some way it was what we expected. Following a protocol that has shown good results in others with a similar cancer just makes sense.

The first two weeks were preparation, measurements, alignment and the like. Two sessions of about 2 hours each, trying to sit still while the technicians did their thing. She is feeling well enough that I didn’t have to go along for these sessions or the eventual treatments. In fact Mary is going in to the office to work most days. If she gets run down she will work from home and avoid the commute and the Atlanta traffic.

With the end of February upon us she will have completed 10 radiation treatments. She goes by at the end of the day, about 4:45 each weekday for a treatment. Each treatment takes about 40 minutes and she gets home about an hour later in the traffic isn’t too heavy. Thus far the side-effects haven’t been noticeable. The plan is to give a total of 33 such treatments.

That means a minimum of six weeks and three days, if you don’t take any breaks. The plan, however, calls for a break or two. We don’t have a firm idea on when the breaks will be. She meets once a week with the radiation oncologist to evaluate the process and they will decide on when a break is called for.

That’s all for now. May the grace and peace of God be with you.