Update

It’s been awhile since we have given any updates, so before we share any prayer requests, here’s a quick review of what’s been happening the last few weeks:

At the very start of the “Delayed Intensification” phase in mid-January, Jack dealt with a great deal of nausea, pain and stomach issues. Thankfully, after a really difficult week, things settled down a little bit. Chemo was still having an impact on him, but it seemed a bit more manageable.

Jack's treatment includes a number of different forms of chemotherapy that are given to him at varying intervals, and Jack takes a number of different medications that fight side effects. As a result, it’s a little difficult to determine a pattern of what exactly causes problems and what exactly solves them. That said (to nobody’s astonishment), the more treatments he receives, the worse he generally feels.

In light of that, it was no surprise that last week was a fairly good week as he had a scheduled reprieve from chemo. This week though, things are likely to get tougher as he is scheduled to go in for chemo on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. The four consecutive days are likely to leave him feeling pretty rotten, so our prayers for him would be as follows:

• That Jack would not have any headaches resulting from the spinal tap scheduled for Tuesday
• That the actual administration of the chemo would go smoothly
• That the side effects from chemo would be minimized
• That he would have strength and endurance to persevere through whatever side effects there are
• As always, that the course of treatment would continue to have its desired effect

As I’ve often put it in talking to people, with over two and a half years of chemo remaining, we know that the path that lies ahead of Jack is a long, bumpy one. We take some measure of comfort though that so far, he has made the progress that was intended, he’s where he’s supposed to be right now on that road and he’s headed in the right direction. Thank you for praying for him as he makes that journey.

***TUESDAY MORNING UPDATE: Click here