Just a lot of stuff

Yesterday we met with Dr. Rebecca Johnson, a very gracious and extremely thorough oncologist who herself had cancer as a young lady. The "cut-and-dry" fact is that Biz has either residual or recurrent cancer in her ethmoidal sinus. So, Dr. Johnson's recommendation is that Biz begin a chemotherapy regimen next week. There are still a few questions to answer before then, but if the plan stands, Biz will be at Children's Hospital on Monday for baseline tests and pre-treatment matters. Her first cycle of chemo should be on Wednesday.
The plan Dr. Johnson presented involves chemotherapy every three weeks. The application should keep Biz in the hospital for anywhere from 2-5 days and then require her to remain within one hour, door-to-door, from the hospital until her white blood cell count is sufficient to minimize the risk for further travel. This can take up to 2 weeks. For those who are not familiar with our location: home is two-hours, plus an hour and a quarter ferry ride (with departures varying from 2 to 10 hours apart) from the hospital. Needless to say, there will be some time away from home.
There is much to pray for in this plan, the foremost being its effectiveness. While we had been told that chemotherapy was ineffective in treating esthesioneuroblastoma, Dr. Johnson believes that not only is the sample too small to draw any definite conclusions (only 100 known cases among children worldwide since the 1920's--and vastly divergent treatment approaches) but she also believes that there is evidence to the contrary. Of course, as I read in Mark 1 last night, Jesus can heal all types of diseases. Another thing to pray for is God's grace upon our family in the disruption. It is possible that we'll be spending two weeks apart and one week together for a while. But the Lord controls blood cell counts, so he will not allow more disruption than we can benefit from. Hair loss for Biz is a prayer concern. She has such beautiful, dark, straight, long hair and her disappointment is significant. Our Savior strengthens hearts. There are also toxicity concerns. Just one of the three medications they plan to use can affect hearing and kidney function. Nausea is also common. Thankfully our Savior, Jesus, also strengthens bodies.
We look for, and constantly find, God's love in all of this. We are a bit overwhelmed at the moment, as there is so much to process, but we know that your prayers sustain us.

"On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many." 2Cor. 1:10b-11