Mayo Trip results

We went to Mayo and had some tests run in the morning of Jan 30th. Blood and chest x-ray. We met with Dr. Greg Gores at 1:30pm. After reveiwing all my information he said he thinks the Gemzar, oxiliplatin and Avastin has done a good job at halting this disease. He is not so sure if the Avastin has anything to do with it because he said these tumors are hypovascular. He said once these drugs become ineffective he would add Tarceva. He also mentioned Gleevac by itself. He said for he would look at Theraspears for my larger tumor to get rid of it. (I guess it is radiation beeds for the inside of the tumor). You can continue Chemo with the internal radiation. He said there are no known reasons for this condition. He has even seen an 18 year old with this. Wow! All along from the beginning I have had a few small nodules in my lungs that everyone thought was nothing. He thinks they might be cancer so we need to check this out. (they have not changed at all since my diagnosis so who knows?) Dr. Gores is not an Oncologist but a surgeon. So for now I will stay on what I have been on. I am going to MD Anderson on Monday Jan 6th to meet with their Oncologist. I just can not leave any stone unturned. The frustrating thing is everyone seems to have different opinions.
I will continue ever day to look up to the heavens KNOWING God works everything together for good for those who love him (and I do). I have to trust in him with this one and know that even though none of this makes sense to me right now he still requests me to be obedient and cast all my anxieties on him. He says he is enough for me and I believe him.
Thank you Mom's in touch gals for praying for me this morning. I love you guys!!!!!!!
I needed your prayers and support today.

If I take the wings of the dawn

From Psalm 139.
Today, Chris, Julie, and Val are taking the wings of the dawn to dwell for a season in the remotest parts of the sea.

Even there Thy hand will lead me, and thy right hand will lay hold of me.
If I say, "surely the darkness will overwhelm me, and the light around me will be night," even the darkness is not dark to Thee, and the night is as bright as day.

Val leaves this morning to be evaluated at The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Pray that Chris does well in sitting for long flights with his back. Pray for wisdom for Dr. Gores and his team as they evaluate Val's disease. Pray that God's Spirit will work to unite the strong personalities of Chris, Val, and Julie to work together for the common goal. Pray that insurance will cover the costs at The Mayo.

How precious also are Thy thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with thee.

Godspeed Dear Ones!

Thanks

Many thanks to those who prayed for Valerie's nausea. She is feeling better and is on course for the Mayo Clinic this Sunday. Valerie also has an appointment at MD Anderson in Houston on Feb. 6. Second and third opinions are what we are after to attack this cancer. Pray God will go before us and pave the way as we trust He will.

In Genesis God waited until Abraham and Sarah were so old, nearly 100, for Sarah to conceive Issac. It would seem He did this to make it abundantly clear that this blessed miracle was from the hand of God alone. Whether we wait on the Lord for a miraculous healing or if the Lord directs that hands of the doctors, our prayer and hope is for comlete healing for Valerie.

Thanks for your continued prayers and encouragement for Val. I know first hand that there are many silent prayer warriors as well who do not post on the Blog, but check it regularly and pray daily for Valerie.


In Him,

Val's sister, Julie

Tough Day

Just a quick post to let you all know that Val has been very nauseous and vomiting since last night. Please pray that this passes quickly and that Val regains her strength to make the trip to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester this weekend.

I was sharing with Val the other day to words to Lord's Day 1 of the Heidelberg Catechism which is an ancient christian document written in 1563 in Heidelberg Germany. She was encouraged by it and wanted me to put it on the BLOG.


What is your only comfort in life and death?


That I with body and soul, both in life and death,

am not my own,

but belong unto my faithful Saviour Jesus Christ;

who, with his precious blood, has fully satisfied for all my sins,

and delivered me from all the power of the devil;

and so preserves me

that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head;

yea, that all things must work together for my salvation,

and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life,

and makes me heartily willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him.



Thank you so much for praying for Valerie.

Julie - Val's sister

Friends are a gift

I was having a tough day today when I ran into a friend from Ryan's school named Osil. She said she had taken all the songs that had been mentioned on the blog and down loaded them from the intranet onto a CD. What a incredible gift. After dropping Ryan and Gavin off at Connections practice, I put the CD in and listened to it in my car. All those awesome words we have all been reading I now was listening to. Of course crying but mostly worshiping. It gave me the lift I needed. It was a remimder to me that God is always with me even on days where I am sad and I do not see Him.
He is faithful even in the little things and I know he will continue to be with me in this journey.

You Shall Be Witnesses

Last Tuesday, as Val's 6th chemo regimen was just beginning, a tall girl came in and identified herself as a social worker from Dr. Drazin's office. After a few words of obligatory hello, she asked Nancy and I to leave. In a moment, I realized that this well meaning person wanted to talk to my daughter about life and death.
I spent the next half hour sitting somewhere trying to look calm and cool in front of my wife and everyone else. In truth, I was churning on the inside wondering how Val would handle this encounter.
When I couldn't stand it any more, I walked back into the Infusion Center. Val was in her room. The social worker was gone. And what was Val doing? Laughing and chatting on the phone with her friend Mary Anne.
I asked Val about her discussion. It was pretty much what I expected. I mean, what else can a social worker talk about? Although sincere, her perspective is based only on the world we see. Life and death. That great divide.
Apparently most of the conversation between Val and the social worker came from Val telling this gal that the world's view doesn't quite get it right. Way to go girl!
That, Dear Saints of God Most High, is what the hymn writer meant when she wrote, "Blessed Assurance Jesus is mine. Oh what a foretaste of glory divine."
Jesus' last words to his followers before He left were, "You shall be witnesses unto me in Jerusalem, and Judea, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the Earth."
Valerie Sloan McCrea fulfilled this great commission on Tuesday, June 17, 2006 at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Beverly Hills, California. And God is well pleased!

Val's Dad

Feeling Good

I just wanted to let you know my Chemotherapy went well yesterday. They decided not to give me this certain pre-medication that makes me be sick. So I wasn't. It took 6 hours still but I felt pretty good through it. No naseau today but I am just resting and drinking alot of water. I have 3 more doses and then another scan.

I am going to the Mayo Clinic, MN for another opinion. It will be good to hear what they say. They have ALOT of CC patients and I am on a 2 day check up with them Jan 30 and 31.

I do thank God for all of you who read this blog and pray for me. It means everything for me to know you are all with me. Prayers, food and friendship. It is overwhelming how many people care about me.

I have been working through this daily devotion called
"God Calling". It is really good. (It is at Costco...ha ha)I liked these words:
Be calm, no matter what befall you. Rest in Me. Be patient and let patience have her perfect work. Never think things overwhelming. How can you be overwhelmed when I am with you? Do not feel the strain of life. There is no strain for MY children. Do you not see I am the Master-Instrument maker? Have I not fashioned each part? Do I not know just what it can bear without a strain? Would I, the maker of so delicate instrument, ask of it anything that could destroy or strain? No! The strain is only when you are serving another master, the world fame, the good opinion of men-or carrying two days burden on the one day. Remember that it must not be.

Valerie

The Measure of a Man

God's yardstick is very simple. "THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH". The Writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for. The conviction of things not seen."

Elisha was a Prophet of God Most High. When the King of Syria came against Israel, God's people prevailed because God revealed Syria's secret war plans to Elisha . Furious, the King of Syria sent his army to kill Elisha in the city of Dothan. Picking up the story in 2 Kings 6:15, Elisha'servant wakes up in the morning to find the city surrounded by the army of Syria. In fear, he awakens Elisha. "Alas, my master, what shall we do? Elisha answered, "do not fear for those who are with us are more than those who are with them." Then Elisha prayed, "O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

In the 11th chapter, of Hebrews, God repeats the words, "BY FAITH" again and again to encourage us today by the experiences of our brothers who came before us. In conclusion, He says, "Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Dearest Valerie, this is the God we serve. His armies surround you. His power is at work in your life at this very moment. His grace puts supernatural power at your disposal every day and in every circumstance. It is yours for the asking.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face. And the things of Earth will grow strangely dim. in the light of His glory and grace.

Love, Dad

The Sloan-McCrea Team – Springs into Action!

No one ever said we were a ‘passive’, ‘wait and see’ group…….here we go!

After the rather ‘contradictory’ results of the first two month PET/CT scan, the Sloan-McCrea team convened on a conference call yesterday to discuss Where We Are……Where We Want to Be…..and What we have to Do to GET THERE!!!!!

Riding the ‘waves of optimism and pessimism’ as circumstances change over time is a real challenge. Knowing when to be ‘impatient and assertive’, and knowing when to be’ patient and peacefully wait’ is definitely exasperating. Our continued faith and hope lift our spirits and motivates us to ‘charge on’.

Though the PET scan indicated a significant ‘slow-down’ in the metabolic activity of the cancer lesions, the CT scan showed a slight growth in size and number of the cancer cells. Our doctors have expressed ‘optimism’ at the PET scan and are more encouraged by these results, suggesting that the CT scan reflects growth that could have occurred before the chemo really ‘kicked in’, and that the real test of this particular regimen will be at the next two month scan. We will stay the course….but are further questioning our doctors as to the specific results of the scans and their interpretation of these results.

In addition, each of us has accepted an ‘assignment’ to talk with some of the ‘experts’ in GI cancers that we have contacted over the last few months to verify that indeed this is the best course of action (or not) at this time. There is definitely a fine line between patience and ‘wasting valuable time’…..

Submitted by: Aunt Charlene 1/11/2006

Chemotherapy #5

I just wanted to update you all and let you know I am feeling good after this last Chemo. I think I finally got the right pain/naseau drugs working for me. We did not get the written CT results back yet from my test but preliminary results show slight growth. However, the most important part is the PET Scan showed decreased activity or "life of the cancer". We will have a better understanding on what these 2 tests mean after my doctors meet at their tumor board next week.
Have a great week!!!
Valerie

Chapter Two Begins

A better story of God's grace, mercy, and power has never been told. A mighty fortress is our God.
Today we wrote the last words of chapter one. Now I have a better idea of how the Apollo 13 astronauts must have felt as they splashed down in the waters of the warm Pacific Ocean.
Val had a PET/CT scan today to assess the effects of eight weeks of chemo. The PET (Positron emission tomography) Scan picks up the metabolic signal of actively growing cancer cells in the body, and the CT (computerized tomography) scan provides a detailed picture of the internal anatomy that reveals the size and shape of abnormal cancerous growths.
Val's Oncologist Dr. Drazin came into the exam room after receiving the PET Scan results. We knew something was up when we saw the smile on his face.
Remember, the PET Scan measures the "life" of the cancer. The result: the cancer is not growing and appears to have diminished to some extent. As Luke Skywalker said, the "Force" may not be with us much longer.
We will get the CT results in a day or so. This is a picture that will give us another piece to the puzzle.
To say that we are totally stoked is a vast understatement.
The second huge piece of good news is that the insurance company has approved the use of Avastin. This is due in large part to Char's behind the scenes bulldogged leveraging of people and who knows what else. Maybe we don't want to know everything!
For you Charger Fans (if there are any left), LaDainian Tomlinson could not have carried the ball on this run like Char did!
Dear Saints of God Most High, thank you for your prayers for these victories that we have realized today. Continue to pray as Val starts her 2nd 8-week chapter of chemo. Pray also for healing for Chris' back. He is a great soldier who is in a lot of pain.

Godspeed,

Val's Dad

The Big Test

Please pray for Valerie for tomorrow. Val, Richard, and maybe Chris ( Chris is experiencing a lot of back pain) are going to Cedars at 8:00 in the morning to get a PET/CT scan to see what changed have occured with Val's cancer. Pray that the scan shows that the chemo regimin has been successful at shrinking the cancer. Pray for Val as she prepares to get chemotherapy on Wednesday. Pray that she tolerates the chemo well. Pray that God will give her peace and comfort this week. Pray for healing for Chris's back as well.

Thank you for battling this disease with us through prayer.
Julie

A Father's Heart

Last night my wife Nancy and I were sitting together in the Edwards San Marcos Theatre watching "Walk The Line", a movie about the life of Johnnie Cash. Sitting there, I could not help but remember another similar event years ago. My wife and I were sitting in the Mann Theatre in Rancho Bernardo watching "La Bamba", a movie about the life of Richie Valens (a late 50's rock and roll singer for those of you who didn't quite make the baby boomer cut).
In the middle of the movie, the film stopped, the lights went on, and a man walked to the front of the theatre and asked if Richard and Nancy Sloan were in the audience. A bit stunned, we got up and went to the lobby. I took the phone that was waiting for us. My daughter Julie told me that Valerie had been in an accident on Cole Grade Road in Valley Center. She was having brain surgery at Palomar Hospital.
Now in what seemed to be a movie of our own, Nancy and I reached out and clenched the hand of our Father. The 7 mile trip to the hospital seemed to be 1,000. As we walked down the corridor to ICU, I could see my son Jeff sitting on the floor slumped against the wall. Crying.
We were taken into Valerie's room. As we approached the bed, I realized that the head injury had caused such severe swelling that I could not recognize her face. I asked the nurse to expose her shoulder so I could see a large birthmark. She did. There was no birthmark.
After a frantic search, we realized that this was a friend of Val's with a similar car. At the time of the accident, Val's ID was found in the car. Sadly, Kim Powers left our world of time and space the next morning.
My clearest memory of the events of this night was when I gathered my family in my home on Laslo drive and said, "this is as hard as it gets in this life." I was wrong.
When Moses asked The God of Heaven His name, He said, "I AM". When the Pharisees questioned Jesus about his age, He said, "before Abraham was, I AM".
As a father, on this 1st day of 2006, I reach out to clench the hand of He whose name is I AM. And He is with me. The Ancient of Days. The High King of Heaven. God Most High. May His name be praised forever.
And he is with you. The grace of The Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.

Val's Dad