“Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His Name. For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.” Psalm 100:4-5

It’s Thanksgiving this week! Hooray! I always like to record what I am thankful for in my Thanksgiving Blessings scrapbooks. I encourage those that we celebrate with to write what they are thankful for, too. It’s been a real treasure and I love reading over it and enjoying photos of loved ones from Thanksgivings past, and remembering God’s faithfulness.

This year, even though Mike was diagnosed with stage 4 liver and pancreatic cancer in April, we still have much to be thankful for! Everyday I thank God that Mike continues to feel good, he feels strong, and is still able to do things around the farm. I’m so grateful for that!

A couple of months ago I reported that we got COBRA medical insurance after Mike stopped teaching in June. It is very expensive, $2,200 a month! Mike has been researching new insurance plans for 2025 with a broker. We are now signed up for a new plan for only $11/month beginning in January! God is so good! Hopefully, it will cover what Mike needs medically! We’ll see!

I mentioned that Mike was doing tele-health with a cutting-edge doctor in the state of Washington. The doctor wanted to prescribe some non-traditional medicines to treat the cancer but wasn’t able to do so without examining Mike in person. We had hoped a local doctor would be willing to prescribe them. No dice. The Washington doctor thought that a doctor in Long Island may be able to prescribe them, but that didn’t work out either. Instead, Mike is going out to the state of Washington in December to be examined by the doctor and get the prescriptions. We’re grateful that he can get these alternative medicines and praying that they will have a big impact on fighting his cancer. I’m very grateful that a friend offered to take Josh to school those days so I can accompany Mike on the trip! The doctor’s practice is on Whidbey Island off of Seattle and I have always wanted to go to the San Juan Islands! I’m looking forward to it and getting to go with Mike!

Finally, I’m so grateful for each of you! We are overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness of so many friends…some friends that we met many years ago! Thank you! In addition, there are people praying all over the world for Mike, his health, and our family! We are so grateful! God has been so good to us. May God continue to richly bless each of you and may you have a very special Thanksgiving! Take time to thank God for His blessings to you!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good: His love endures forever"  I Chronicles 16:4

Mike returned to his local oncologist last Thursday.  We were pleased to learn that he had gained 7 pounds since he was last there, three months ago!  We are thrilled!  The doctor wasn't encouraged and called Mike emaciated. But we aren't basing our joy on this oncologist!

Another blessing is that Mike got another shot of Lanreotide after the doctor visit.  He usually has some uncomfortable and unpleasant side effects following his monthly shot.  Last month was especially miserable.  This time he has had very few!  God is so good!

Thank you, thank you, for your continued prayers and generous gifts!  We are so grateful!  God continues to bless us in so many ways!

"Praise the LORD...Praise Him for His acts of power; praise Him for His surpassing greatness...Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.  Praise the LORD."   Psalm 150:1,2 & 6

These verses were shared with me early on in Mike's cancer journey.  They remind me that giving praise to God is the key to everything.  It sets my focus on Him and changes my outlook and attitude.  It has been so helpful during this season.

Thank you for praying for Mike and our family, as he battles pancreatic and liver cancer.  We are so grateful and have experienced God's blessings and answers to prayer.  Also, thank you so much to those who have donated money for Mike's medical costs.  We appreciate it greatly.  Our medical insurance that we had through Mike's teaching position, ended on August 31st.  Thankfully we were able to sign up for COBRA, but the monthly costs for medical insurance are expensive and exceed our income.  Your generous gifts are a blessing and very appreciated.

It's been awhile since I have sent out an update on Mike's health.  Generally, Mike continues to do well.  He has been feeling good and has been exercising (he walks almost 5 miles a day!) and does work around our little farm.  I'm so thankful that he has been feeling good and is able to exercise.  He received another of his monthly injections of Lanreotide a week ago, and hasn't been feeling well since that time, unfortunately.  We're not sure if it's the result of the side effects from the shot or if he caught a virus of some sort.  He got a fever a couple of days later and his digestion tract continues to be a mess.  He's lost weight and he doesn't have anything to spare!  Please pray that he will feel better soon and be able to put on some weight.  Thank you very much!

Mike met with his oncologist in August and the doctor recommended chemotherapy as the next step.  Mike does not want to go that route.  Last month he went out to California and Arizona to visit some clinics that use immunotherapies and alternative medicine to treat cancer and other diseases.  I'm glad that he went out there and that he could check out these clinics.  The doctors that he met described treatment options that may prolong Mike's life.  He also had a blood test performed that looked at his biomarkers or attributes of his cancer cells "to identify actionable targets for chemotherapeutic agents, adjuvant therapies, and immunotherapies" that Mike's cancer is most likely to respond to.  We just received the results of this test and the doctor clearly explained them to us over the phone.  This could prove very valuable!

The clinic in Scottsdale, AZ requires staying in the area for 8 to 14 weeks, paying for the expensive treatments out of pocket, and there are no guarantees of success.  After praying for wisdom and guidance, and seeking counsel, Mike decided against getting treatment there for now.  I'm so thankful and very relieved!  It was hard enough to have him gone for 2 weeks; I can't imagine how difficult 8 - 14 weeks would be!

The clinic in Irvine, CA offers good immunotherapy options, but it's quite far from home and not practical to go there once a week for treatment.  Thankfully, Mike located a clinic in Tennessee that offers many of the same immunotherapies that Mike would like to pursue, and much closer!

Another new development is that a friend recently introduced Mike to a man who has been cured from cancer and has offers wisdom on what he did to get well.  Mike plans to interact and learn from this man.  We are continuing to trust God with Mike and his health.  He holds Mike safe in the palm of His hand, He can provide miraculous healing if He chooses, and He promises to work all things together for good for us because we and know and love Him (Romans 8:28).  We are banking on His promises and care.

Thank you again for your prayers and financial support!  We are so grateful!

Sending much love from Kentucky!

Hi there!  Thank you so much for praying for Mike as he battles liver and pancreas cancer.  We are so grateful!  Mike got his third shot of Lanreotide in July.  His oncologist ordered a CT scan a month later to see how the shot is affecting the cancer.  Last week the doctor interpreted the results of the scan for us.  We learned that the cancer in his stomach lining has decreased (thank you, Jesus!), the largest tumor in Mike's liver and pancreas have not changed, and the two smaller tumors in the liver have grown.  The oncologist recommends that Mike continue with the Lanreotide shot monthly and also begin to take a chemo pill.  Mike received the fourth shot after the appointment, but he does not want to take the chemo pill.  

Mike prefers to try a holistic approach to treating his cancer and has made an appointment with a functional doctor and clinic in Irvine, CA.  He will have a consultation on September 23rd and we will see how the Lord leads following this appointment.  We continue to trust that God has Mike safe in the palm of His hand, He is more than able and capable of healing Mike completely, and He continues to be very good to us in the midst of Mike's cancer.  I'm so thankful that Mike feels "fine" and is able to walk 2-3 miles each day, and do work around our home and little farm.  He deals with fatigue and a bloated belly, but other than that he feels good.  Such a gift!

Thank you so much for the generous donations, they are so helpful with the travel and medical costs.  Thank you even more for your prayers.  We know that God hears and answers prayer as we have seen throughout our lives.  He is so good!  

 I have had a very productive garden this summer!  I think things grow much easier here, than in CA!  Must be all the rain!  I usually leave the veggie gardening to the master, Mike.  But he hasn't been able to get to that yet with caring for the chickens, the land, and other projects around here.  Gardening is so fun!  Thanks again for everything! Sending love from Kentucky! 

God's hand was on the trip to Texas.  It was an adventure trying to get to Houston, but nothing like people experienced on last Friday when the CrowdStrike issue arose!  We left a day later than we expected, but we both made it there in time for Mike's appointment on Tuesday (it was doubtful at times!).  Mike's brother picked us up at the airport and delivered us to the MD Anderson clinic just minutes before we needed to be there!  We heard people from Houston describe the traffic and we got to experience it first hand!  Thankfully God made a way! 

Mike's appointment went well and it's good that we went.  We learned more about what's going on inside his body and that he has more cancer than we were originally told.  Mike has a PNET tumor in his pancreas.  "PNETs, also known as pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors or islet cell tumors, are a type of cancer that originates in the pancreas. They are a less common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for less than 10% of all pancreatic tumors."  He may also have cancer cells lining his abdominal cavity, which may be causing the ascites or fluid build up.  Something positive that we learned is that he is on the right course of treatment.  The Lanreotide shot every 28 days is exactly what the Doctor from MD Anderson recommends, too.  Mike is scheduled to receive his third shot of Lanreotide at the end of July.  A few weeks later he will get another PET scan to see how his cancer is doing with the drug.  We are thinking of returning to Houston to do the scan and receive the analysis from the Doctor there.  If the Lanreotide is not working effectively than the Doctor has some other recommendations.

Thankfully we were able to head back home on Wednesday.  We spent just over 24 hours in Houston.  It was fun to be with Mike's brother, Jon, but we were all ready to go home.  "There's no place like Home!"  I'm happy that I didn't miss my sunflowers blooming!  They make me happy!

Thank you to everyone for all of your prayers and generous donations!  We are humbled and grateful.  Sending love to you all.

Happy Independence Day!  As we celebrate the blessings God has bestowed on our country today, I wanted to update you on Mike's health.  He was diagnosed with Stage 4 Liver Cancer in April and was found to have some large neuroendocrine tumors in his liver.  The cancer originated in the pancreas.  The oncologist recommended an injection of Lanreotide every 28 days, which is designed to slow the growth of the cancer.  Mike received his injection at the end of May, after he finished teaching Middle School Math.  We are thankful that he was able to wait until the end of his teaching position before he got the first shot.  There have been some unpleasant side effects and it would have been impossible to keep teaching.  One of the side effects is ascites, more fluid buildup in his gut.  It's been increasing quite a bit.  It looks almost like he's pregnant.   Mike got his second shot at the end of June.  He's experiencing the same side effects.  Thankfully he is not debilitated by the side effects and is able to still do things around the farm.  God is so good!

We will be will going to MD Anderson, a cancer treatment center in Houston, in a couple of weeks.  We are hoping and praying that they will be able to offer some other form of treatment. In the meantime, Mike has been doing a ton of research on alternative forms of treatment and has found some that he is thinking of pursuing.  We have been praying that God would provide wisdom to know what treatments to consider and I believe God has been faithful to provide many options.  He has already answered prayers and I know that He will continue to.  Thank you so much for your prayers and generous donations.  We are so grateful.