Enough with the downtime...

The past few weeks have been super boring...no doctors appointments, treatments and we haven't received bills every day either...lame! We have been spending our time celebrating birthdays, Halloween and spending some quality time together (see proof to the left). But enough with that! It's time to get the show on the road...the radiation show, that is! :)

Seriously though, as Nate has been recovering from chemo for the last couple of weeks and it's been nice to focus on the normal things of life for a while.

Yesterday, we met with the radiological oncologist, Dr. M, to discuss the next steps in treatment. She wants Nate to redo his PET scan to re-stage and make sure that he has had a "complete response" (i.e. no more cancer cells left) before starting the radiation treatments. That scan will take place on next Monday, November 12, early in the a.m. After the scan, there will be more planning in the form of more scan to mark out where the radiation will actually be given on his body, coordinates will be drawn and then tattooed on his skin to ensure proper placement and then treatment will begin.

Nate will have 17 radiation sessions total, Monday-Friday with the exception of Thanksgiving and the day after Thanksgiving. The treatment only takes about a minute, so he will be in and out of the office within 30 minutes...so that's good!

More hair loss, fatigue and a sore throat will be the most notable side-effects of this treatment and there are a few long-term things we will be watching for like skin cancer, thyroid problems and scar tissue in the lungs.

For now, we need prayer for the following:

• Pray for Nate's PET scan to be totally clean
• And speaking of the PET scan, pray for the actual time before the scan when Nate is becoming radioactive...he has to sit completely still in the dark without any stimulus (i.e. music, TV, books, talking, etc.). That sounds like heaven to me, but for him, it's just super endlessly boring.
• We would love for the treatments to be given at the Shawnee Mission Campus instead of the Overland Park campus because of proximity to work and home.
• And of course, please continue prayer for patience with the process and one another :)

We are continually amazed by the kindness of people and God's grace and patience with us as very imperfect people.

Much love!

The Heide's