Tonight, I'm blogging to simply as you for prayer. You see, I had a rough visit to the doctor today and am kind of down tonight as a result. I am being heavily attacked by Satan and could really use your prayers for God's peace on my life.
My oncology doctor has been offered a position at Penn State as the Director of their cancer clinic. This is a wonderful opportunity for him and I am thankful for the time I was able to spend as his patient. In the period until they find a replacement, Dr. Carlisle, my former oncologist, who retired this year, is coming out of retirement to help care for Dr. Hohl's patients. I very much respect and trust my current doctor so it was hard news for me to take that yet again I will be switching.
Because of how much I respect him, I asked Dt. Hohl his opinion of what he would recommend if all continues to look good on my brain scans (my next scan is in March). He said that with my aggressive form of brain cancer, he would like to see me continue chemo for an extended time (potentially through next April), since my body is handling it well and if finances would allow. But he is concerned if I stop chemo too soon another tumor will resurface quickly. So, it seems as if I might be continuing chemo for awhile longer. Of course, this is not the course that I must definitely take and depends of many factors including my scan in March and Dr. Carlisle's opinion.
I am struggling tonight most of all due to the the stress of the financial burden that continuing chemo for another year would place on us. We are currently paying $300 out-of-pocket each month for my five nights of Chemo on top of a substantial insurance premium. We are simply not mathematically able to put $300 in our monthly budget for the next year. However, I MUST trust that God will provide every need, including this.
Although I'm just slightly overwhelmed this evening at all of this new information, I knew directly what to turn to: Godly Friends and God's Word. Right away after returning home from my appointment, I tore open my Bible and dug deep into the Word, as well as emailed some important Christian mentors asking them to pray for me. I know that I must fully turn this situation over to the Author of this story! Please pray for me to do just that.
In closing, I end with some verses that helped me through tonight:
"Submit to God and you will have peace; then things will go well for you." ~Job 22:21
"The Lord gives his people strength. The Lord blesses them with peace." ~Psalm 29:11
"But all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harm." ~Proverbs 1:33
"Don't worry about anything, instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he's done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hears and minds as you live in Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)
"Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed." ~1 Peter 4:12
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