The Stage IV Life

Wow. Somehow, it seems we had a stretch of contentment. We got comfortable. 2022 was a year of fighting that crazy cancer battle. Great success.

All of 2023 was really a great year. It felt ‘normal.’

It wasn’t until I went to pick up Brian from the airport after he visited his mother in Tucson, Arizona that everything changed, again. I picked him up from the airport on December 5 and on the way home he shared with me that his first night at his mother’s house, he had pain in his back that would come in the night, so much so that he couldn’t sleep. Of course, I instantly thought the cancer had returned. My mind was racing, I knew something wasn’t right. We’ve stuck to the plan for all this time. All the at home care, including his twice a week detoxes through his foot spas, and all of the daily supplements (four times a day). 

Of course none of this was a promise that the cancer couldn’t come back. We’ve been quite aware that his stage IV non clear renal cell carcinoma with chromophobe (with sarcomatoid) is a very aggressive cancer that likes to come back.

But in all honesty, when you’re feeling so good and “normal” it’s hard to be prepared when this happens. Brian has been getting scans of one kind or another, mainly CT scans every three months. 

We were hoping to close out 2023 with a clear scan and start 2024 with scans every six months instead. His latest scan was at the end of September and it was a CT scan. Results were clear. So only a little over a month later he was having pain in his back.

His oncologist ordered a PET scan that once again, our horrible insurance denied. And he was then scheduled for the normal CT scan and that was of course set for the end of December. Results from the CT scan came in showing something on his spine. Brian’s oncologist wanted to get an MRI, which would show a clearer picture on the bone and was allegedly going to give us a true diagnosis. She didn’t think it was cancer, it “didn’t make sense to her.” A few days later, Brian got the MRI and actually got the results from the MRI the same day. Surprisingly, the radiologist gave a report showing that it was nothing of concern, and something benign. It took a few days, but the oncologist got back to us, letting us know that she wanted to make sure there was a comparison between the CT scan and the MRI. 

A few days later there was an addendum to the report. After two more radiologist reviewed both the scans, it was determined that there was concern about metastatic spread. So was the next order for a biopsy. We of course had to be patient because they couldn’t get him in very quickly and we could only pray and wait. In the meantime, Brian was experiencing a lot of discomfort in his back, a lot of deep, dull pain, but not necessarily feeling it where the tumor was being shown in the scans.

Brian had his biopsy take place on Monday, January 29…. and then we had to wait, again. Unfortunately biopsy results do not come back as quickly as scans do. 

In the meantime, we made an appointment with another alternative treatment doctor at another cancer care center here locally. (Unfortunately, Brian’s Dr. Bob from his previous treatments, has retired and so we needed to find another plan. We are very happy and thankful to have another local place to go. Most people have to travel far for this kind of integrative medicine.

After meeting the new team at FCCC on January 31, we felt good about the plan with the integrative medicine they offer. A lot of similar treatments, and a lot of different treatments as well. We will most definitely share more detail regarding these treatments but for today I’m just getting everyone up-to-date on what’s happened to get us this far.

So the day after we met with the new doctor, we got the results back from the biopsy. It was something I particularly already knew inside my heart was happening, but it was devastating getting it confirmed.

The cancer has spread to Brian’s spine. This tumor has not grown as fast as his past tumors did. The past tumors grew at such a rapid rate, but that was prior to all of the lifestyle changes and incredible supplements and natural things that we’ve been doing religiously since he began. 

Now a whole new chapter is beginning. It’s pretty crazy. It’s pretty stressful. And yes it’s scary. It’s emotional but the Lord has been with him this entire journey and we know He’s not going to leave him now.

Sorry for the length of this post, it’s an attempt to get everybody in the loop. And like I said, we will most definitely be sharing all of the details regarding his upcoming treatments. Blood tests are going to begin on Monday which will be February 5….. from there it’ll probably be around three weeks or so before actual treatments begin. All of the results from his bloodwork will determine his customized treatment plan. And while we are waiting on that, we will be getting funds together because once again, alternative treatments are never covered by insurance companies.

Lastly, we decided to create this blog to ensure we keep everyone in the loop but also have one place to blog/share this journey for others who need to know – need to learn. Cancer is such a scary word and so many people don’t know where to begin. Over the years, we’ve shared with lots of others all that we’ve learned along the way. Now we can have it all in one place and keep it up to date and we go. 

I thank you in advance for all the love, support and mostly the prayers. It means the world to us.