The Pancreatic Cancer Journey

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

We are Never Abandoned...

If there would be a theme running through my life... a silver cord binding my heart and soul... it would be Grace.

We speak of it often here on the Journey. Grace, extragavant and undeserved... Gracious gift from a Father's Hand.

Grace, personal and real, before I even took my first breath...

Grace, unmerited and full of favor, as we savor life's sweetest gifts...

Grace, warm and comforting, a shelter from life's storms...

Grace, steadfast and sure, even under the harrowing diagnosis of cancer...

Grace, beautiful and sweet, when friends swoop in to lift our bruised and battered hearts...

Grace, merciful and deep, as we walked the Pancreatic Cancer road with mom...

Grace, All Sufficient, as the veil thinned and eternity called...

Grace has become the mainstay of my life's journey. And so, it is no surprise that the following quote caught my eye...and my heart. It is from the book A Memoir of Grace by Chuck Smith...

"Grace does not shield the cruel realities of a world damaged by the fall.

We're not in heaven yet,

and God does not spare us from the crushing blows that come to everyone...

We lose people we love,

we suffer,

we grieve,

we journey on,

but we're not abandoned."

His words speak a truth. For we all will eventually experience the harsh reality of pain and grief should we live long enough. The heart aches for each burden we bear.

Perhaps it is a cancer diagnosis. Perhaps a painful separation from those we love. Perhaps a grievous abuse that defies forgiveness...

In it all, the anchor is God's steadfast Grace... We are not abandoned... He has walked this road all the way to Cavalry... He knows our pain. He knows our grief. He has come to extend Grace, unwavering, never changing, so completely all-sufficient, for even one such as I...

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." II Corin. 12:9

Grace breathes hope right into the weariness. He walks right beside, holding us up when we stumble, and hurt, and weep... We are never abandoned. Christ's power is glorified beautiful into each life that trusts His Hand.

Let Grace anchor our hearts this day, dear friends, no matter the Journey, no matter the cost...

Holding on to the One who never lets Go, Always,
Jane

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Personalized Pancreatic Cancer Treatment

What if someone could tell you exactly how to zap your cancer?

What if your doctor could plan your treatment protocol with confidence?

What if scientists could map your tumor and tell you the best battle plan to destroy the beast?

The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network is unveiling a new service for Pancreatic Cancer Patients. It's called Know Your Tumor...

It's cutting edge science and holds much promise for Pancreatic Cancer patients world wide.

Simply put, doctors can now determine the biology of specific tumors through biopsies and detail a personalized treatment plan for your individual cancer.

When mom was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, her doctor went to default mode and automatically set her on the traditional pancreatic cancer treatment... Gemzar Chemotherapy.

Never mind that this protocol had not changed much in the past 30 years... and was still only marginally successful. Gemzar was the Gold Standard treatment for pancreatic cancer. And in many doctor offices, it is still considered the Gold Standard... even though so many clinical trials and alternative protocols are showing promise. With Gemzar's low success rate, perhaps it's time to find another Gold Standard... Yes?!

And maybe we can start by dissecting the pancreatic cancer tumor and finding out just what makes it run...so we can stop it in its tracks.

So, exactly what is this Know Your Tumor strategy?

It is a way to test your tumor, often called molecular profiling, to find out what treatments and/or medicines will be more effective in destroying it.

The molecular profiling is done by a company called Perthera. They describe the process on their website:

Every patient is different, and not everyone responds to the same treatment. Perthera’s job is to determine which therapies will work best specifically for your cancer, through a coordinated service designed to help you gain maximum benefit.

We begin the process with a biopsy where we have developed innovative ways to handle fresh tissue samples. We maintain total control over the tissue gathering process at the time of biopsy and beyond, to ensure that the fresh tissue is gathered properly.

We send samples to the best diagnostic partners, each with tests that have been proven to improve the success rates of patients. Together, these tests represent the most comprehensive analysis of genomic and protein information that you can get anywhere in the world.

We have assembled a panel of distinguished medical professionals, each with expertise in a specific type of cancer, to constantly search for and evaluate the best available testing technologies and the latest drugs, trials and research, so they can become part of our proprietary Expert System Database (ESD).

We use the ESD to combine the molecular analysis of a patient's tumor with their medical history and the latest treatment options available to create a report of personalized treatment recommendations, and our panel of medical experts reviews the report and its recommendations.

We serve as an advocate for each patient by intently listening to their needs, constantly following up concerning milestones in the process and responding to patient inquiries within 24 hours. We also track the latest molecularly-targeted drugs and drug trials and advocate for your participation.

This service is available for patients who meet their criteria:

1. Have stage 4 (metastatic) pancreatic adenocarcinoma cancer (this means the cancer has spread beyond the pancreas)

2. Have already started or will soon be starting treatment for metastatic cancer.

Know Your Tumor is another avenue or tool for pancreatic cancer patients to explore. Targeted cancer therapy designed for your individual cancer tumor.

It is not foolproof... understand that there are still so few chemotherapies to choose from in the fight against pancreatic cancer... but the molecular profiling might show promising clinical trials that target your tumor cells... We fight the fight anyway we can...

As always, talk with your oncology team. Molecular Profiling is not on everyone's radar... Perhaps it's time to kick this fight up another notch! Working together to find Hope in the Fight...

In Grace, Jane

Saturday, January 31, 2015

The Lake Place Update...

Life in the country moves S L O W !!!!

The last time we shared about our adventure homesteading on the lake we were positively, definitely moving fast... at the slowest pace ever!

To bring you up to speed...we sold our farm last December (2013), *sigh* then bought our lake place this past June (2014) *smile* and have been dreaming, planning and working hard every since, on country time that is... which I may have mentioned is S L O W...

But we have a driveway now... Yes!

I love how it curves thru the property...

And after all the dozer work, we are watching the pond refill...

It's one great, big, over-grown mudhole right now, but, oh, I see possibilities!

Just wait... this is the perfect "Before" shot.

One day, we will all Ooooo and Aaaahhh over the grand transformation!

And, then we found an off-the-wall storage container for all our "Stuff."

It's an actual rail-container. Perfectly weather-tight and roomy enough for all the important stuff we had stored and scattered all over creation this past year.

It's incredibly comforting to have our things all back together again...

Kind of like Christmas as we find long lost tools, books and assorted, but indispensable junk :-)

And then there have been the bonfires in the rain...

And the hikes along Brushy Creek in the winter sun...

And little gopher hills popping up all over the place!

but such, cute, furry little faces, makes me smile...

(Farmer Husband is not amused)

But, oh, so cute, just saying!

We welcomed friends to enjoy our country place...

After, of course, reminding them that we have no water, no potty,

nor even a home.

But they love us and came anyway!

And the most recent development is also the most exciting! Just this week we began drilling our water well. Such anticipation at the lake place!

We are anxiously awaiting to strike gold any day! Clean, cold water is our prayer!

We will keep you posted on all developments...

And in the meantime, we continue to lift up all those enduring their own journey along the pancreatic cancer road. Perhaps you might feel our love this day in a special way. Your struggles are not forgotten and we storm heaven's gates daily for answers to the suffering of this life.

Praying you are swept up in Grace and held closely in Peace this night.

My Love Always, Jane

Friday, January 16, 2015

With Every Act of Love

Jason Gray's song "With Every Act of Love" speaks to my heart every time I hear it... Join me for a moment of happy joy as we lift each other up today?

Sitting at the stoplight

He can't be bothered by the heart cry

Written on the cardboard in her hands

Oh, but when she looks him in the eye

His heart is broken, open wide

And he feels the hand of God reach out through him

As heaven touches earth

Oh, we bring the kingdom come

Oh, with every act of love

Jesus, help us carry You

Alive in us, Your light shines through

With every act of love

We bring the kingdom come

There's silence at the table

He wants to talk but he's not able

For all the shame that's locked him deep inside

Oh, but her words are the medicine

When she says they can begin again

And forgiveness will set him free tonight

As heaven touches earth

Oh, we bring the kingdom come

Oh, with every act of love

Jesus, help us carry You

Alive in us, Your light shines through

With every act of love

We bring the kingdom come

God put a million, million doors in the world

For His love to walk through

One of those doors is you

I said, God put a million, million doors in the world

For His love to walk through

One of those doors is you

Oh, we bring the kingdom come

Oh, with every act of love

Jesus, help us carry You

Alive in us, Your light shines through

With every act of love

We bring the kingdom

Oh, we bring the kingdom come

Oh, with every act of love

Jesus, help us carry You

Alive in us, Your light shines through

With every act of love

We bring the kingdom come

With every act of love

We bring the kingdom come

With every act of love

We bring the kingdom come

May we be the door for heaven to walk through this very day... Grace bring the kingdom come to everyone we meet...

Always, Jane

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Seizing the Moment

Hello New Year...

2015 has just had to come knock me on the head and bring me back to the present.

Not that the present is so bad, but, oh, 2014 was one of those years that we have relished... from treasure hunting our perfect piece of land to perfect family cruise memorials... I rather liked 2014.

And then I read an article on Seizing the Moment and it reminded me of a day on the beach (on the afore-mentioned cruise in 2014) that made me smile...

It's my favorite picture for Seizing the Day.... and not just because it's the cutest grand-daughter ever, no... it's because she ran right into that cold water and had a blast. All the adults gingerly waded in, eyeing the overcast sky and curled our toes in that frigid water. Ha! We are such pansies, but, who would have thought that a beach in paradise would have been so cold?!

So, as a nod to 2015, I'd love to share the words that pushed me out of 2014 and has me opening my arms to whatever's ahead, risking even the brisk, cold waters for moments of such bliss with those I love...

"Too many people put off something that brings them joy just because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.

I got to thinking one day about all those people on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner that fateful night in an effort to cut back. From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.

How many women out there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner until after something had been thawed? Does the word 'refrigeration' mean nothing to you?

How often have your kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched ' Jeopardy ' on television?

I cannot count the times I called my sister and said , 'How about going to lunch in a half hour?' She would gas up and stammer, 'I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late breakfast, It looks like rain' And my personal favorite: 'It's Monday.' She died a few years ago. We never did have lunch together.

Because Americans cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches.. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!

We'll go back and visit the grandparents when we get little Steve toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the living-room carpet. We'll go on a second honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.

Life has a way of accelerating as we get older. The days get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and all we have to show for our lives is a litany of 'I'm going to,' 'I plan on,' and 'Someday, when things are settled down a bit.'

When anyone calls my 'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for trips. She keeps an open mind on new ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is contagious. You talk with her for five minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and skip an elevator for a bungee cord.

My lips have not touched ice cream in 10 years. I love ice cream. It's just that I might as well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive process. The other day, I stopped the car and bought a triple-Decker. If my car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.

Now...go on and have a nice day. Do something you WANT to...not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what would you say? And why are you waiting?"

Welcome 2015... Ready for Grace to unfurl for the Journey ahead. Praying that our hearts and minds might be opened to the treasures you have prepared just for us. Lord, let me not miss even one cherished moment in the coming year...

Seizing the Days in Grace, Always,
Jane

Thursday, December 25, 2014

A Different Kind of Christmas...

Sometimes a song says it all.

Cherish the message, may it minister to your heart...

Blessings this Christmas!

May Love and Laughter Ring Your Table

and Peace Reign in Your Life...

Grief and the Holidays...

Everyone that has lost a loved one knows the pain of journeying through the holidays... there is no easy answer to the grief that tears the heart. Facing the empty place at each festive table, missing the cherished smile and laughter that accompanied each treasured tradition, hurting through a time that once was joyous but now only emphasizes the sorrow of our loss...

No easy answer.

And no right answer...

For our family, we have found that meshing new traditions with favored past-times has eased us through the grief that threatens to overwhelm at this most Holy time of year.

We miss mom every day, and so much more even, if that is possible, during this special season of Christmas.

Mom loved Christmas. As a matter of fact, 3 years ago, as she faced her 1st Year Canciversary, she insisted on decorating the house before Thanksgiving ... which was early even by her standards! She said she just wanted to enjoy the season as long as possible... I wonder if she knew down deep that her days were dwindling.

It puts an ache in my heart to remember walking back into their home the Sunday she passed away, December 4th, to see the Christmas lights twinkling and the ornaments hanging just the way she had placed them... for us. I know that if she hadn't decorated that tree when she did, we would never have had the strength to do it... But each day of that first December, as we planned a funeral and wrote her obituary, and accepted flowers and food and sweet hugs, the house sparkled with her special touch. It was small, but it was the nudge I believe she knew we would need...

Keep on Living, Don't Forget to Celebrate...Make. Every. Day. Count...

And so... that cruise we had planned to celebrate her 1st Year Canciversary... well, it never happened. Bruised our spirits hard, it did. She so wanted to go. God had other plans. And we grieved. And walked through dark days. And even in that grief, Dad talked about their cruise... And we planned... And we went... in honor of mom.

And we found that the cruise gave us leave to celebrate what we thought we had lost...

Life and Love and Laughter.

And so cruising has become our new Christmas tradition. One the whole family embraced this past week...

All 23 of us! We filled up 10 cabins on the NCL Jewel. Yes we did! And had so much fun that it was almost illegal... We ate, we laughed, we swam, we relaxed, we loved, we lived... such Grace that brought us to this place. Mom is surely smiling her approval... Words cannot express the treasure... perhaps a few pictures??