Oncologist Isn't Such a Bad Word After All

I told her that airshows are not that big of a deal, and that I could take her up in a Coast Guard helicopter soon. But Christie loves airshows and will quite literally do anything to see them - even if it means getting a monster. She was not convinced or impressed with the helicopter idea, and said it would be a poor substitute for the Thunderbirds. So we once again found ourselves at Travis Air Force Base - this time for a meet & greet with her oncologist after the airshow.

Oncology. Such a wild, menacing sounding word. Her oncologist's name is even Dr. Wild. Thankfully, we were very impressed by the Oncology department. Her doctor is available for walk-ins anytime she's at the hospital (weekdays during normal work-hours) which is much better than you might get at a civilian university hospital. And she's very willing to get second opinions and even transfer to different treatment facilities if that will help. It's good when you find that you are a name/face to the doctor, and not just a number.

We talked about Christie's constant nausea and chest pains (which Dr. Wild said are really not that bad, given the size of the tumor!) and treatment options, though in reality, we do not know what they will be. We have no diagnosis, and we will not have one until next week. However, we are expecting Hodgkins Lymphoma (HL). It is the most likely fit for her age and gender, her symptoms, and the preliminary pathology of the biopsy. It would also be the best of bad news.

Statistically speaking, it is the most treatable of possible cancers she might have, with well established and effective treatments. But only 8,000 people in America get HL each year. That's .002% of the U. S. population. And Christie has it? How bizarre.

But bizarre and terrifying is where the rubber of faith meets the road of reality. We heard said in our Bible study last week that spiritual maturity is measured by how long it takes us to surrender to God. Please pray that we grow in our quickness, depth, and sincerity of surrender to Jesus.

Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path."

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Some other statistics I looked up:
If you have your own access to the internet, you are among ~1.5% of the world's wealthiest people. You are part of about 2.3% of the world's population owning about 34% of the world's wealth. Bizarre.