One Down, Ninety-Nine to Go

Last night I took the last of my oral chemotherapy pills for the current 21-day round.  Now I get eleven days off (thank you, Lord).  I would normally get just seven days off beetween rounds of treatment, but since we're pushing the treatments to start on Mondays in the interests of not trying to conduct church services while I'm green in the gills, I get a few extra days. 

At my last appointment, I asked the doc how many of these 21-day rounds he had in mind for me.  He said, "A hundred . . . to start."  He went on to explain that as long as the chemotherapy was being effective against the cancer, and as long as I could handle taking it, he wanted to continue indefintely.  After this first round, I would gladly accept two bad days in the course of twenty-one, but I also know that there are cumulative side-effects of the chemotherapy that might wear on me in time. 

Thank you for your prayers.  After finishing up with the fourteen days of oral chemo, the side-effects, while definitely present and impairing, have been quite manageable.  I appreciate your prayers that such will continue to be the case going forward, and for the larger issues of life, faith, hope, peace, and joy.