Continuing Mom's Cancer, Etc. Update from Eugene

This week we've continued to prep Mom's house for an early September marketing (and hopefully early sell) of her house. She has lived here for over thirty years, so it is a difficult transition for her, on top of all the recent news about her breast cancer. The home/pest inspector has been in, and we have had several things to address like a furnace inspection, minor electrical circuit issues, and some dryrot near the base of a couple of the deck support beams. We continue to multi-task throughout the day as we address insurance issues, social security/Medicare, transitions into new supplemental programs, and lining up gutter/roof inspectors or flooring estimators. Whew....the cell phone is getting a lot of use this month! I feel like the lead contractor on a massive building project. It looks like Sept. 1st will be Mom's moving day to Sherwood, so we'd appreciate your prayers as we move ahead toward that day.

Mom had her first clinic visit to her oncologist this week, and he was actually quite positive, all things considered. He said that the lab reports and other diagnostic tools they've used indicate no "bad oncogenes" (oncogenes are cells that normally direct cell growth). He also said that she has responded well to the antibiotics and said the breast with the tumors looked "dramatically better" (in terms of the infection itself). Furthermore, Dr. Kovach also said that the cancer was probably a little less agressive than initially thought and that she would be a good candidate for hormonal therapy since she was "rich in hormone receptors." So, we take the good news when it comes, don't we?!

Today, Sabrina and Cortni took Mom out to find a wig (still expecting hair loss in another week to ten days), so that will be something to look forward to. I told her to go for a "beehive" style. She seems to have relatively minor side effects thus far (as long as we keep the Cherry Coke, Hershey Kisses, and potato bread stocked and flowing). Friends have been visiting, calling, and writing, and her spirits in general have been good up to this point.

Thanks to all of you who are sending cards, emailing, calling, supporting and encouraging us through your kind words, and praying for a myriad of things before God's throne. We really sense a supernatural energy to get a lot done in a short time, a joy in the midst of stress and emotional turmoil, and loads of lessons about being Christlike servants (Phil. 2). We have a LONG way to go, but we hope to grow through this and learn to love Mom, family members, and others more deeply through this.

It is getting late, so I'll sign off for now. Thanks to all of you around the globe--from Japan and Taiwan to Kazakhstan, to Germany, Turkey, and Norway, and throughout the U.S.--who are reading this blog and thinking and/or praying for my mother. We are so blessed to have you lifting us up!

Tim, on behalf of the family