$25

Metisha got her oral chemo pills today and they were covered by insurance so she only had to pay $25! This is a huge answer to prayer and a testament to the power of prayer! We are so thankful and overjoyed today! Metisha will start taking the drugs this evening so pray with us that she will not experience any side affects; no sickness, no exhaustion and no hair loss. And most importantly pray that the drugs will work and kill all the cancer spots on her liver!

And since we know prayer works, please pray for our friend Lori. Lori and Metisha have been best friends since junior high. Lori had a beautiful baby girl last Thursday and then had a severe stroke Sunday morning that has affected her mobility in her left side. Please pray with us that Lori will be 100% restored and regain all mobility in her left side. And pray for her beautiful family: husband John, daughter Laney (2 years old), daughter Haley (5 days old) and her mother Marva. They are beautiful people and Lori is strong and we believe she will be running after her girls very soon!

Possible Oral Chemo Treatment!

Tisha’s doctor consulted with MD Andersen and they recommended an oral chemo treatment. They doctor said she has treated several women with metastatic spots on the liver and they have responded very well to this drug. Metisha would take several pills in the morning and the evening for 14 days, then take a break and then start again for 14 days. It has side effects similar to chemo (can make you sick and can cause hair loss) but they are generally less than chemo. This drug is very expensive at over $2,000 per month so a HUGE prayer request is that the drug will be covered by Metisha’s insurance. Please pray diligently for this. This therapy would be easier on Metisha than chemo, gives her a better chance of not losing her hair again and may be more effective.

So now we are prayerfully waiting for oncology to check on insurance coverage.

Could be Worse, Could be Better

Metisha’s PET scan came back today. No cancer showed in her neck or anywhere else in her bones which is great news and a huge praise! However her liver has gotten worse. There were previously 4 spots and now there are 11 which is obviously not good news. So we continue the pattern of it could be worse but it could definitely be better.

Unfortunately there are now so many liver spots that they don’t think surgery or ablation is a possibility. Her nurse told her chemo is probably the best option but she will discuss any options and the next steps with her oncologist on Wednesday afternoon. The oncology nurse is also going to consult with MD Anderson. A fear with chemo is that the original liver spot didn’t respond well to chemo last time.

Some days are just bad days and today was definitely one of those days for Tisha. After she got the call from her oncology nurse she went to Walgreens to get some prescriptions. She was standing in the inevitable pharmacy line when the lady behind her informed Tisha the seam was ripped out on her skirt, all the way up. Yes, her unmentionables became mentionable! Of course in true Metisha spirit, she said “oh well, that’s not the worst thing I’ve been told today”. And true to the theme it could have been worse; she was at least wearing a modest granny garment instead of a more risqué option. The moral of the story is when you’re having a bad day, just go home!

We have a very specific prayer now. The PET scan can show how many spots are no the liver but cannot show a 3D image of how the spots lie on the liver. So we are praying specifically that the spots are all in one lobe of the liver so that liver surgery is an option. Beyond that we are praying that a new drug or chemo is now available that will be 100% effective in killing the cancer in the liver. We are also continuing to pray that Metisha will develop a love for fruit and veggies and a hatred of sugar and junk food. And we are always praying for complete and total healing.

PET Scan Tomorrow

Metisha has her PET scan tomorrow morning. We are pray for good news from the scan and that the good news will come fast!

Markers Slightly Up

Tisha got her blood work back today and it showed her markers to be up 40 points which is a slight increase and not an alarming jump. This could be an indicator that the current drugs are not working but does not concretely mean the cancer has grown or spread. She will now have a PET scan on Thursday to see where the cancer is and the results of that scan will determine whether she continues with the current treatment plans or has to change course. Tisha is not upset about these results and is still smiling and focusing on her new school year.

This is not the news we have been praying for, but it isn’t necessarily bad news either so we continue to pray diligently. Metisha feels strongly that these test results do not affect her outcome because God is in control. We have faith in him and faith in his ability to heal her. Metisha also feels strongly that she needs to make dedicated healthy lifestyle changes with her diet to help fight her cancer. So we need to keep praying and lifting Metisha up in this area. Pray for:
· The PET scan to provide good news – no growth or even reduction of the cancer
· Metisha to continue to feel good
· Metisha to conquer her diet a become a veggie and fruit lover and sugar hater

Keep smiling with us! We are so thankful for your support!

Waiting on Test Results

Tisah went to oncology yesterday for her monthly bone treatment and blood work. We are waiting on the results of the blood work to see if her cancer markers are up or down. These results will determine what scans she will have next and if she continue with her current treatment.

Please pray with us as we await the results. We are praying for the markers to be down showing the current treatments are working.

Family Vacation, Back to School

Yes, I know I’m a bit behind on blogging. But I have faith that the prayers have continued during the blogging down time. To make up for the lack of blogging I will provide you with a day by day recap of our recent family vacation, enhanced with photos of the actual events.

We were very blessed to leave on a family vacation to Red River, NM the morning after Tisha’s birthday. It seems like Satan tried his best to still our joy (dead car alternator, housing plumbing issues, general pre-vacation crazies) but by 1:30 am we had all finally gathered in Fairview and by 5:30 am we were on the road heading west to the mountains! We had quit a caravan for 6 people and two dogs: a RV pulling a trailer with three ATV’s and a pickup pulling a jeep and carrying five mountain bikes. Yes, we travel with only the essentials! We made it to our breakfast destination of McDonalds in Guymon and to our picnic lunch at the Palisades surrounded by the beautiful mountains and cool, clean mountain air. We got to town early afternoon and were greeted by the perfect mountain shower. That evening we and had dinner at our favorite restaurant, Sun dance. I’m not sure if it was the altitude or something special in the Mexican food but Mom got the uncontrollable giggles at dinner and the trademark Barb snort was heard by all (more than once).

The next morning we split up and took on several adventures. The “boys” (Mark and my husband Jeremy) loaded up the mountain bikes for a little downhill in Angle Fire. Dad and I checked out the Angle Fire area in the jeep. And Metisha and Mom took off for a hike. Metisha is a VERY good daughter with a very POOR memory. Mom loves to hike up to a very gorgeous lake in Red River and says when she dies we must hike there to leave her ashes. The problem is it’s about a 14 mile hike and the first half of the hike is on jeep trails/switch bikes. Metisha knew Mom really wanted to go so she volunteered to go with her. Unfortunately she had forgotten that she swore she would never go again after the last expedition! So after more than 6 hours of hiking they returned without making it the lake. Metisha once again swore she will never go again. Mom was all smiles and carried about 15 pounds of rocks down with her. Unfortunately for Mom I predict her ashes are scattered at a lower altitude! The boys made it back with no biking injuries and had a great day. As for Dad and I, let’s just say we met an unpleasant man and Dad got to make a contribution to the New Mexico Highway Patrol.

The next day was family day. We gathered the ATVs and Jeep and headed out for Goose Lake. The day started out in a typical fashion for us, with a little trail side maintenance.

After we removed some unnecessary parts from the rhino, we continued on our way. We made good time up to the lake and were greeted with great views and very chilly temperatures.

While the rest of us ate a picnic lunch Mark decided he wanted to hike to the top of the mountain. He made it up and back in a little over an hour. Don't worry, we did save him a sandwhich.

For our final day of vacation the boys returned to Angle Fire for more downhill mountain biking but this time with an injury. Mark was riding so fast down the mountain that he ran down a bee. The bee ended up in his shirt and Mark received a third nipple. Mom, Dad, Tisha and I decided to do some more ATV riding. We started out trying to tackle 4th of July Canyon but the trail was very washed out and we were told the final ascent typically resulted in a rollover. So we made it to about the last 200 yards before we chickened out, turned around and headed back down the mountain. We ended up going up Old Red River Pass and adopted another couple from Texas who followed us most of the morning. From Old Red River Pass we misidentified our stopping point and continued on a trail that led to, well a dead end. But the dead end trail was the most beautiful trail we have ridden at Red River! The scenery was beautiful and we were the only ones on the trail. After we hit the dead end we turned around and headed back to a beautiful meadow for a picnic lunch with just the four of us.

So that was the 2009 Ewbank/Welsh/Unruh Family Vacation. Now it’s back to school for Mark and Metisha. Mark started this week with a camp he conducts for new students and Metisha reports back next week.

On the cancer front, Metisha goes back to oncology on August 19th. They will do blood work and then decide what scans should be done. Pray that this doctor appointment produces nothing but positive news. Pray for no new cancer. Pray for reduction of the existing cancer. Also pray for Tisha as she continues to battle her sugar addiction and adopt better nutrition habits. She loves sugar and our family loves to eat, so she can use lots of prayer support in this area. Most of all, pray for complete physically healing from cancer! We know above all things, prayers work!