Praise You In This Storm

Family & Friends,

With all that is changing in our lives, we wanted a way to be able to communicate with you all without spending hours upon hours on the telephone. We thought this would be the easiest way, because most have internet access, and for those who don't, someone could always pass it along.

I guess we should start at the beginning. Bryan has been sick for the last several months. On April 24th, Bryan was seen by a GI doctor for a colonoscopy, where they found a "large, ugly tumor." The doctor took a biopsy, but advised Bryan he should look for an oncologist.

On Monday, April 27th, we found out the biopsy was positive for "Invasive Moderately Differentiated Adenocarcinoma," sheets of malignant cancer cells infiltrating through the rectum's mucosa.

We met with our oncologist, Dr. Petrik, on Wednesday April 29th. We were there for over 3 hours. Bryan had a total exam, lab work, EKG (which came back normal) and then the doctor met with our whole family. He explained what the tumor looked like, the possibilities of the cancer spreading through the tissue wall or to the lymph nodes, treatment options, etc...

On Monday, May 4th, Bryan had a Virtual Colonoscopy (to explore the area of the colon not seen by the original idiot, er... doctor), a CT Scan and a PET scan. We won't know the results of those until Thursday, but they will tell us if the Cancer matasticized, spread to areas such as his lungs, etc..

Today, May 5th, he had a sonogram done. We found out that the cancer is in Stage III. We also learned that the cancer has spread (4 cm in to his muscle) and has likely spread to a nearby lymph node. They were unable to biopsy it, because they would have gone straight through the cancer. However the doctor went ahead and diagnosed it as such, feeling fairly certain that is what had happened.

We will meet with Dr. Petrik again (our oncologist) on Thursday at 3:45, to discuss when Chemo & Radiation will begin, any work through the latest news.

There is a saying I kept close to my heart during our Infertility Journey. "This may not be the journey we had hoped to have, but it is the journey we are on. We will embrace this journey, and pray that God will use us to minister to others." When you are 26 years old, Stage III Cancer is the furthest thing from your mind when you feel sick. Our entire lives have been turned upside down in the last two weeks. The only constant, is that Jesus is near. Though we are scared, frightened, angry, terrified.. God has been here! He is ALWAYS just a step ahead. He isn't leaving us.

And for always, that is all we need.

Thank you for your continued love, support and prayers. We know that God hears every single prayer, all around the world. He is here... He is listening...

Love,

Bryan & Chelsey