So whats going on with Tim??

Soooo.........this update is long overdue and we sincerely apologize. It is only as of yesterday that we actually know exactly what we are dealing with and how we are going to deal with it.

Bottom line & short story: Tim has 'lymphocyte predominant' hodgkins lymphoma. This is a very rare kind of hodgkins lymphoma, only 5% of hodgkins patients have this particular kind. The bad news is it is incurable. The good news is you can live a long life with it. When the cancer gets to a point where it is affecting Tims quality of life, we then knock it out with chemotherapy. And then the cycle starts all over again. We wait until the cancer rears its ugly head again (it could be 1 year, 10 years or 30 years) and when it gets bad- we knock it down again.

Some questions you might have:

How is Tim?

Tim is feeling GREAT. He has absolutely no symptoms and he has never felt better or been in better shape. Hardly a day goes by where he has not gone for a run or a mountain bike ride. Thats why we were so shocked to hear it was back again, because he was feeling so good and is in great shape.

Is this the same kind of cancer he had the first time?

Yes, this is the same kind of cancer he had the first time. They have just found out a lot more about lymphocyte predominate lymphoma in the past 5 years. So now we know more. If they knew then what they know now, his treatment still would not have been different the first time around. They still would have taken a shot at knocking it out completely.

How are they going to monitor Tim?

He is on a short leash. He will see the doctor again in September and possibly have a CT scan in December sometime. Based on what that shows, (how fast it has spread/grown) we will have a better idea of how short the leash will be.

How are you guys doing?

Really good. Through out all of this the Lord has given us a theme with many verses. The main one to us is Daniel 5:23 reminding us to "honor the God who hold in HIS hands, YOUR life and ALL your WAYS." We are confident that the Lord will take care of us and we know we are in the Lords hands and just live out our faith, our life, every day. Day by day.

How can we help? Is there anything we can do?

Clean our house, bring us dinners, watch our kids........just kidding. Really, life is going on as normal for now. When chemo starts (whenever that is) a little help might be nice. But for now we are good.

Do the kids know?

Yes they know that Daddy has cancer and might have to take medicine to get rid of it. They dont really get it or seem to care- which is perfect.

How can we pray?

That we can continue to live our lives pursuing the peace of Christ and not let the burden of cancer take root in our lives or hearts. And of course for complete healing.

Any other questions - just ask us!

We will be using this blog for updates in the future. When you become a follower you will be notified when an update goes out.

Thanks to all of you for caring, and for your love and support.

We love you all!

Tim & Joa