Hope in necrosis?

Hope is a precious commodity, one in which you cannot possibly place a value on, or have enough of.  This is especially true for those in life situations where sometimes the rays of hope are all that encourage the soul and give an expectation of life in the future.  I continue to hold to that hope, and for good reason.  The object of my hope is God.  No matter what happens in regards to the disease that I fight I have great expectation for my future.  As Peter tells us in his first epistle, chapter 1, verses 20 and 21, that Jesus was made manifest for the sake of us, who through him are believers in God, and that our faith and hope are in God himself who raised him from the dead and gave him glory.  

I do have hope and the expectation of living due to the results of the most recent (March 17) scans. They show that, although the tumors have not shrunk as much as they did in the last scan, the cells are dying from within the core of the tumor.  This cell death is called necrosis.  While necrosis is not something you want in normal, healthy cells, it is desirable in cancerous cells.  The area of cell death is substantially larger in these most recent scans than in the previous ones (2 months ago).  It looked to me, and my oncologist, that the cell death within the tumor was twice the size as was seen in the the Jan. scan. This is what is supposed to happen within the protocol of the clinical trial that I am involved in and I am well pleased.  One bit of disappointing news is that the tumor has not released, or retreated from, the major veins that it is wrapped around.  This makes surgery not an option, at least for now.


So, although I agree with Paul's declaration in his letter to the Philippians, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain," I have hope springing forth, as we move into that season, for life, and it abundantly.  Please pray that I will continue to experience each day with joy, even those that are not so easy to be joyful in.  Pray for continued success with the treatment plan and a proper perspective on the future.


Peace and grace and hope,


EL


Romans 5: 1-2
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Through him we have also obtained access by faith in the grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.