UPDATE (01Oct09) Read the entire report here.

The news is good…bottom line the CEA number apparently rose in response to the severe diarrhea that she has experienced in the past 15 days.  A new med has been prescribed to bring that sequence to an end (if you know what I mean!) and the hope is that the quieting of the GI tract will result in lower numbers.  The CT scan shows NO NEW GROWTH of cancer in any area from the neck to the abdomen.  There is no indication of cancer development or “hot” spots in the PET scan and all her other labs are NORMAL. Subsequently, the doctors seem to agree that this rise in the CEA is not problematic for now….

So, PRAISE THE LORD! Prayer is still effective.

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Today (30Sep09), Bishop Bill posted some discouraging news about Kathy. See the entire post here.

Well, this has been a huge emotional roller coaster for us this visit to Zion. Today is Wednesday (09/30/09) and we are sitting in our hotel room waiting on the insurance company to pre-certify a new CT scan for Kathy in hopes of determining the cause for the jump in her CEA-tumor marker numbers….

When Dr. Thompson told us that the numbers had jumped from 1.4 to 6.0, it was a shock to us. I guess we had not even prepared for the possibility of this, mainly because everything had been going so well and despite the side-effects, we were banking on a continued “normal” run to the announcement CANCER-FREE! Such may not be the case…

Here is the response that I left for them. I am confident that it is similar to what many of you would  also say… Read the rest of this entry »