Cancer Should be Called Waiting

Metisha’s liver MRI was rescheduled from last Friday to June 4th. The oncologist said they would continue with three more rounds of chemo regardless of the outcome of the MRI scan, so she will get her 4th round of Pack-Mans this Friday.

Tisha’s decided that cancer should really be called waiting because it seems like the majority of her treatment time is spent waiting. Get a scan, wait for the results. Get a diagnosis, wait to get into a doctor. Have a Pack-Man treatment, wait three weeks for the next treatment. Chemo days have the most waiting; they go something like this:

Check in at the front desk
Sit and wait
Get blood work done
Sit and wait
Meet with the PA
Sit and wait
Get chemo port prepped
Sit and wait
Get Pack-Mans

Not exactly a fun day. Tisha says the chemo facility is just a sad place because so many people are so sick from the chemo. Pray for her spirits as she faces three more trips to the chemo facility.
Everyone is always so surprised by how well Tisha looks in the middle of chemo and she proved her strength again this weekend. We spent the long weekend camping. She rode bike, hiked, helped build walking trails and rode ATVs. She continues to amaze me with her constant physical and emotional strength.

Losing her hair has still be the worse part of the treatment for Tish but she continues to find humor in her new aerodynamic look. We were visiting with family this weekend and a few of the men were comparing who has lost the most hair over the years. One of them piped up and said, “Hair loss shows wisdom.” Metisha immediately responded, “Well that makes me the wisest person here!”

Tisha’s cancer has created a new and odd ritual for Tisha, my mom and I. Every time we get together mom and I use our advanced medical skills to evaluate the change in her tumor since we last saw her. This time, neither mom nor I could find the tumor without Metisha pointing it out! And yes, we are a close family!

Continue to pray with us.

Pray for protection from all side effects of the Pack-Mans this Friday
Pray that the Pack-Mans on Friday will eliminate any remaining cancer spots on her liver
Pray that the liver photo shoot on June 4th will come back cancer free
Pray that her spirits will remain high and that she will continue to have faith in total healing
Pray that Tisha will be cancer free by her birthday on July 28th

No Porcelain Hugging!

Tisha has made it through her 3rd round of chemo. The Pac-Mans were more angry this time and had her down longer than normal. But praise God that her side effects did not have her hugging any porcelain!

On Friday, May 25th, she goes back for another photo shoot. The oncologist is most focused on how the chemo has attacked the cancer spots on her liver and the next steps will be based on the results of theses scans.

Metisha is getting more and more comfortable with her new, low maintenance, hair style. We were talking last night about new movies we want to see. She said, “Maybe I’ll paint my head green and go see the new Shrek movie!” I would proudly sit next to her at the movie theater!

Continue to pray with us. Tisha has been so strong but continues to need the strength of prayer. God is the ultimate healer and He can and will restore her body and spirit. Please pray specifically for:

• God to heal her 100% from cancer by her birthday on July 28th – This would be the best birthday present she could receive!
  
• Good sleep – Tisha has trouble sleeping after chemo
  
• Tisha’s faith for total healing to be strengthened – this has been a struggle lately, pray hard for this
  
• All cancer in her liver to be gone by the May 25th scan – the liver spots are the doctor’s main concern
  
• A quick healing process – Metisha is very active and wants to finish her treatment and surgeries as quickly as possible
  
• Mark as he continues to be Metisha’s wing man
  
• The Welsh and Ewbank families – that we will know how to best support Metisha and Mark

Supporters

Metisha teaches 5th grade in the Fort Worth school district. She is an excellent teacher! She has a knack for being a fun teacher while maintaining a high level of respect from her students. Her students have been very uplifting through her cancer war. They celebrated with her when the brain scan came back clean. They were intrigued and excited to learn about and see her chemo port. And when her hair fell out, three of her girls cut off their pony tails and brought them to Tisha so she could make a wig! The kids have been great and definitely keep her spirits up!

The hardest part of the war for Metisha has been losing her hair. She has beautiful blonde and it would be hard for any woman to give up her hair. Thankfully she found a great wig. We’ve had people ask us when her hair will fall out and some people have even made bald jokes in front of her not realizing she has a wig on! Everyday Metisha is more comfortable with her new look and continues to heal with laughter.

Metisha has received so much support from family, friends, co-workers and neighbors. But I wanted to brag on her #1 supporter – Mark. He has been absolutely amazing through this journey. He has been at every doctor’s appointment, every scan, every round of chemo. He is strong. He makes her follow the rules. He loves her every moment of every day. This little sister could not ask for a better supporter for her big sis!

Metisha will get her 3rd round of Pac-Mans (chemo) on Friday. Three weeks after that she will have a new round of photo shoots (scans) to see how much progress the Pac-Mans have made on destroying the cancer on her liver and the breast tumor. Metisha knows that God is taking care of her through her cancer war and that he is using the Pac-Mans to heal her.

Continue to fight Metisha’s cancer with the most powerful weapon we have – prayer. Pray that God will again protect Tisha from the side effects of chemo and that she will experience no pain from the white blood cell booster shot. Pray that the scans will show God has removed all the cancer from her liver and that the breast tumor is gone. Pray that God will guide the doctors in the next step of the war. Praise God for Mark and the unbelievable support he gives Tisha. Praise God for the wisdom he gives the doctors. And praise God for Metisha and the beauty she brings to all our lives. She’s going to kick me for that last but I’m typing it anyway!