Colson Update 12/4/05

Dear Friends and Family,

I realized it has been a while since we last sent out an update, so I wanted to try to get everyone caught up with how things have been going for this Colson clan…

On November 9, Joey’s radiation oncologist prepared him to start his radiation. He was lined up with the machine and marked all up so that they knew exactly where to do the radiation. It took about three hours to get this done, but they were very thorough and exact. We had originally thought that they would be doing radiation on a rather small portion of Joey’s abdomen. However, they told us on the 9th that they would be doing a much larger section. They decided to radiate his entire mid section from about just about the middle of his thighs all the way to his chest. Also, they decided to do radiation over his front, sides, and back. So, while that news was a big change for us, we know that all of this is just a means to and end.

A week later on November 16th Joey started his radiation. This was the first trip of many for radiation J Joey goes to Charlottesville everyday, Monday through Friday, for his treatments. He is scheduled to go every day each week for six weeks with his last treatment being on December 21st. So, it’s about a 3 hour round trip drive for 20 minutes at the radiation center J We have had many wonderful friends help get him to his appointments each day though and this has been a great help and has also helped break up the monotony for Joey. Joey is beginning to feel some of the symptoms of the radiation on his skin, and his doctor “kindly” told us it would only get worse J So, we just try to take any proactive steps we can and pray that the effects are minimal and not as painful.

Earlier this week I got really sick. Last Sunday I began to not feel very well, and by Monday morning I could not talk and was just overall very ill. The doctor told me I had gotten a virus that would just have to run its course. Well, it’s a week later and I’m still not 100% yet. I missed an entire week of work and when Joey went to UVA for another chemo treatment, I was not able to go with him because of his low immune system and those of the other cancer patients on the oncology hall. But, I am starting to feel better and am just able to start talking again so am ready so get back into the swing of things!

Joey did go back for another large chemo treatment this week. He went into the hospital on Wednesday and was headed home by Thursday afternoon! Because he is currently undergoing radiation, they had to take out one of his chemo drugs (this drug and radiation together can make your skin fall off!). The removal of this drug for now has appeared to make quite a difference because while Joey is still fatigued, it is not nearly to the level that it was before! He left the hospital Thursday morning, went for radiation, and then headed home feeling much better than usual. So, we were quite pleased with that.

December 21st will be a big day for us because that is not only Joey’s last radiation treatment, but it will also mark the halfway point for his chemotherapy. Joey will have his 7th of 14 total chemo treatments on the 21st. We are going to celebrate! J

Of course, we continue to see God’s faithfulness through everything! He has used so many friends, family members, and church members to meet so many of our needs – personal, emotional, physical, financial – you name it. God always places people and blessings in our path just in time! J So, we continue to say thank you for the love you show us and also for the prayers! We know that your prayers are making a huge impact on this whole process.

We love you!

Cynthia and Joey

Colson Update 11/7/05

Dear friends, family, and prayer warriors,

My most recent chemo treatment was about two and a half weeks ago, and turned out to be our shortest hospital stay yet. For the first time, my liver functions were high but had fallen to an acceptable level just in time for my treatment to begin. It was really nice to be able to stick to the schedule this time! I was admitted to the hospital at 6:00pm Wednesday and by noon Thursday we were in the car headed back to Lynchburg, even with an increase in my dosages of chemo that made this treatment almost as potent as the first one, and this will be my last treatment with this strength. Within a week, I began to experience some of the neuropathy that the doctors had warned me could happen with the prolonged exposure to one of my chemo drugs called vincristine. The tingling in my fingers that I had been experiencing on a tolerable level became a numbness that made it difficult to type or to even control a pen. As soon as I told my doctor about it, they knew immediately that it was the vincristine, and the protocol at that point is to take me off of the drug. It took me off guard when they told this to me, but it was quite a relief that I would no longer have to travel to Charlottesville every Wednesday for vincristine, and my nurse also said that most people don’t even make it to the 10-week mark with this drug, so getting that far into the regimen is pretty good. For the most part, this numbness has subsided, but it may take a while for it to completely go away. One drug down, two to go!

As hard as it is for us to believe, it has nearly been three weeks since my last treatment, and my next is scheduled for this Wednesday. Before I go in on Wednesday, I will also be going to see the Radiation Oncologist who will take a CT scan for the purpose of setting me up to begin radiation on Thursday. I will be going up to Charlottesville for radiation treatments every day for the next five to six weeks along with my regularly scheduled chemo treatments. If all stays according to schedule, my last radiation treatment will be on December 23rd, just in time for Christmas. Just as with the chemo, we have been told about the potential side effects, but just as with the chemo, we are praying that any side effects will not be nearly as severe as they might be. I know that we have been very blessed that my side effects from the chemo have been fairly limited, and a big reason for that is because there are so many prayers going up on our behalf. Thank you so much for this, and we covet your prayers as we head into the unknown territory of the radiation. (Although I say it is unknown to us, I know that it is not unknown to Jesus, who has promised never to leave or forsake us and will bring us through.) We will find out on Wednesday what time my daily radiation appointments will be, and this will determine much of how often I will be able to work between now and Christmas. Cynthia and I are so very thankful that I work with people that have been so understanding, supportive, and flexible with my treatments and health, as well as being great friends and prayer partners. As for Cynthia’s job, her administrators and fellow teachers have also been supportive and flexible enough to allow her to take some extra time off in the coming weeks to come with me to the radiation treatments.

I cannot thank you all enough for your continued prayers for us, especially for your prayers for Cynthia. Every day I become more and more convinced that she is the strongest and toughest person I know. As both radiation and the holidays are quickly approaching, we are also continuing to pray that God would bring a house – the right house – to us here in the next few weeks. With my radiation schedule keeping us here throughout the holidays, it would be really great to have a house with some more space so that family could stay with us when they come to visit. We are also hoping for a place with a nice sized yard and room for us to have our dorm full of college students over (we are dorm parents for some students at Liberty. Go dorm 4!)

This past time in the hospital, I only had a few minutes to talk to Tim, my nurse who was asking questions about the Lord. But I did get to meet two nurses who work on my hall who are believers, and they have been praying for Tim and talking to him as well. Please continue to pray for Tim and that I might have a chance to see him this Wednesday.

Thanks again for all your prayers on our behalf. We never cease to be amazed by how much God loves us and shows us that He has our very best in mind and He “is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20) His plan for us is the best there is. We will keep you all posted on how things are going.

Sincerely,

Joey Colson

Colson Update 10/1/05

Dear friends and family,

This week's chemo treatment has been the smoothest thus far. I was admitted to UVA on Tuesday around lunchtime, and I was released by 4:30 Wednesday afternoon. This was also my shortest stay thus far, as my typical stay lasts at least 48 hours, and I was very blessed to have only minimal, easily manageable instances of nausea and fatigue. Aside from needing a few meds for the nausea and the occasional catnap, I am feeling pretty good.

I was a little shocked when I called up to see if my room was ready for me, only to find out that my usual place of stay, the Hematology/Oncology ward, was full, so they placed me in a private room on the next hallway, which is normally reserved for bone marrow and other transplants. While it was really nice to have a private room and the view was great, I was a little worried that I may have missed some important information when they placed me on the transplant ward (Did I miss the memo?). Fortunately, the nursing staff assured me that this was only because all of the normal beds were filled. (Which was very comforting news!)

Another blessing came this week when I spoke with my doctor about my liver. He had contacted several leaders in the oncology world about the problems that we have been noticing with my liver, and had gotten a response from a doctor at the Mayo clinic who had written the protocol for the liver disorder that he had suspected we were noticing. The expert, Dr. Arnt, said that the symptoms we were noticing were very likely not a result of the suspected liver disorder, but instead were just signs that my liver was taking longer than most to fully digest the toxins from the chemo. This was good news on many fronts, as it meant that there is less imminent risk to my liver and that there is the possibility that my liver could adapt to be able to better handle the chemo.

These insights are very important for a number of reasons, but most importantly because my doctor now understands better what is going on in my liver, and he knows that it will be OK to increase my doses of chemo in order to treat the cancer as aggressively as we would like. In fact, Dr. Grosh believes that he knows which one of the chemo drugs is causing the trouble with my liver, and studies show similar success rates between full and half doses of the drug.

We will still be monitoring the numbers, but just knowing that the doctors have shed some light on this mystery is a huge comfort to us all.

Thank you for all of you who have been praying for Tim. Unfortunately, this time there was no room on Tim's hall for me, and I only saw him one time, just as I was leaving. I am hoping that there will be more opportunity for us to talk this next time.

All of your prayers are invaluable to us, and I know that it is because of them that God blessed us in so many ways. Your prayers, cards, calls, dinners, and emails have been so valuable to us. Thank you for standing with us in this. Please continue to pray for wisdom for us and our doctors, for strength for all of our family, especially for Cynthia, for physical healing, and for spiritual healing for Tim. Please continue to pray for Cynthia- she is an amazing strength, friend, and rock to me, and always does everything she can to make sure that I am taken care of. She is nothing short of wonderful!

God bless you all,

Joey Colson

Colson Update 9/21/05

Dear Friends and Family,

First and foremost, thank you so much for your continued love, support, and prayers. We cannot tell you how much it means to know that so many people love us and are praying for us. We know that amidst the confusion, the questions, and the difficulty of it all – God has placed all of the right people right in our path to be blessings to us at this time in our lives, and we continue to see God’s hand faithfully guide through each step.

As many of you know, Joey was supposed to be admitted into the hospital today for another round of heavy chemo. However, he was sent back home today as they are unable to administer his treatment due to complications with his liver. Joey’s liver counts are once again very high, and his doctors are not sure exactly why.

Again, this causes difficulty because Joey’s particular strand of cancer calls for the most aggressive treatment possible, and so continuously putting off his treatments or lowering the doses is not the best solution. On the other side, continual stress to his liver can also be very damaging and quite concerning. So, they are having to find a balance.

Because of the rarity and complexity of it all, Joey’s head doctor is consulting some experts at the hospital in Boston, where a team of doctors is already familiar with Joey’s situation.

A praise from today - Last Wednesday Joey had several CT scans and tests run, and his doctor told him today that they looked good and clear, so we are very grateful for that.

Joey is scheduled to go locally to have blood work done early on Friday, and as soon as those results are faxed to his UVA doctors, they will make a decision as to what to do and what the next step is. If all is well, he may go into the hospital this weekend.

So, for now Joey is home and well. We will take it one day at a time and see what happens on Friday. Please pray for continual wisdom for the doctors, and energy and strength for Joey as he has been feeling quite tired lately. Please also continue to pray for Joey’s nurse Tim. Joey will definitely see him next time he is admitted to the hospital, and we are hoping more will come of Tim’s search for peace.

We love you all!

Cynthia Colson

Colson Update 9/5/05

Dear Family and Friends,

I am so sorry I have taken so long to send out an update. However, I have good news to report!

Last time I emailed Joey’s chemotherapy treatments were being delayed due to some complications with his liver. They were not able to diagnose the problem for a few days, but last Monday his doctors determined it was a liver disease that had developed due to one of his chemotherapy drugs.

The protocol Joey’s doctor used was to lower the doses of two of his chemo drugs in order to help alleviate the stress to his liver. Our concern about the reduction in dose is that Joey has a strand of cancer that is least responsive to treatment, so we are unsure of the effects of lowering the doses. But, on the other hand, prolonged problems with Joey’s liver can get very serious too. We fully trust Joey’s doctors though and they have been nothing short of wonderful, so they went ahead and made the change and admitted Joey to the hospital for treatments last Monday.

On that Monday I was at school (which thank you to ALL of you who said you were praying specifically for me that day and all this week!) and as soon as school was out, picked up my father and we drove to UVA. We came back that night, and did the same thing on Tuesday. It was a long week, but God really gave me just the amount of strength I needed to make it until Friday J. (My mom was unable to go with Joey either as she was in training that entire week for her new job.) So our very good friend, Billy Mathis, went to UVA and stayed with Joey in the hospital the whole time and took great care of him when I couldn’t be there. What a blessing that was - thank the LORD for wonderful friends who have stepped in to meet so many needs!

They gave Joey his chemo on Tuesday afternoon. Because he had gotten so sick the last time he got the large doses, they took a few more preventative measures this time, and knew what worked for Joey and what didn’t. I know that we were all praying for this round to go better, and God really answered our prayers because except for being weak and sleepy, Joey did especially great this time around. He did not throw up or get overly nauseous even one time. We were so very grateful for that! In fact, he did so well that they let him come home Wednesday evening.

One very special prayer request is for one of Joey’s nurses – Tim. Monday night, about 11 pm, while Joey was in the hospital Tim came into his room. He looked at Joey and then said that Joey was “different” and that he could see it on his face. Tim said he thought Joey was one of those “saved men.” Joey told him he was and then Tim sat down and Joey was able to share the whole plan of salvation with him. While Tim did not accept Christ that night, we know the seed was planted, and Joey told him the door was always open to talk about it. We are praying for Tim’s salvation and ask that you all join us in prayer especially for Tim.

Thank you all for your continued love and support. We so appreciate your prayers and love. We are still praying for another place to live. Please pray for God to give us the exact house that will meet our needs, and of course we pray for continued strength and healing.

Love,
Joey and Cynthia

Colson Update 8/27/05

Dear All,

I wanted to take a moment to give you another update...

Today (Saturday) we went back to UVA and several more tests were run. Joey had several ultrasound pictures taken, a very detailed CT scan, and 8 viles of blood drawn with MANY tests run on those.

The tests showed no tumors and no obvious infection, which are good things... However, this means the doctors still are not sure what is causing this complication. Because of this, they still would not admit Joey today for his chemo. They are in a somewhat difficult situation because it is imperative to keep the chemo treatments going steadily, but there are also serious dangers of such treatments when parts of the body are functioning incorrectly.

The doctor wants Joey to see what happens over the weekend, get mroe blood work done on Sunday for testing, and then head BACK to UVA on Monday. Then, they will make more decisions about what the next step should be.

I know that so many of you are praying - and your emails and prayers mean so much. Please pray they will be able to figure out what is happening in Joey's liver so his chemo treatments will not be delayed any longer, and pray also for both of us because Monday is my first day of school at FMS, so I won't be able to be with Joey for a large portion of the day on Monday. God has been so faithful to us and we know that ultimately He will work through this whole situation.

I will do my best to continue to keep you all updated!

Love, Cynthia

Colson Update 8/25/05

Dear All,

This morning we went up to UVA so that Joey could start his next round of combination chemo. They sent us to get Joey's blood work and some xrays done, and then up to Joey's head doctor for a pre-chemo appointment.

From Joey's blood work, they have determined that something is going on with his liver. The liver produces enzymes that metabolize. The numbers for these particular enzymes are normally 40-50. Well, Joey's numbers today were 240-250 - a 500% increase! Joey's nurse was pretty shocked, and his team is not sure what exactly is causing his liver to be reacting this way. Just one more thing in this whole situation that has not been common!

They said it could be the medications, a virus, or possibly even another tumor. They have no idea right now, so until they figure it out, they have delayed his larger chemo treatments. We will go back early tomorrow for an ultrasound and CT scan on his liver and for more bloodwork, and then proceed from there. If they figure out the problem and determine it can be fixed, then Joey will be admitted tommorow night for chemo.

So.... we ask that you just pray. Pray for the doctor's to have wisdom, and pray that there is an easy, simple solution. We know God is working, and Joey and I left UVA today feeling ok about the situation.

Thank you all for your love, prayers, and support.

Cynthia Colson

Colson Update 8/19/05

Dear Friends,

First, I would like to continue to thank you all for your prayer support, cards, and emails. We are certainly blessed to have such a group of friends and family to help see us through. We have been very fortunate that this first round of chemo has not made me very sick, relative to what we know it could have done. I have had many more good days than bad days this time around, and we are praying that my second cycle of chemo will be the same. Please pray for us as I am admitted to the hospital next Thursday to begin my second cycle of chemo that the doctors will have made correct adjustments to my nausea medication and that the second cycle will have me feeling better.

We also made another trip to UVA today to see the radiation oncologist, and we began to discuss plans for radiation therapy, likely to begin in November alongside of my chemo and will last for 5-6 weeks. Because of the intense skin irritaion that will occur from radiation along with the fatigue that I will likely experience down the road with the chemo, we have begun to pray and look for a home with a bathroom and bedroom on the ground floor. This would make life MUCH easier, and some extra space would be very helpful as we have had alot of family in to help. Right now, Cynthia's parents (Mr and Mrs Lindsey) are here, and have been a tremendous help and blessing to us. Please continue to pray for Mr. Lindsey's health as well, and for them as they will be on the road this weekend. My parents and brother will be here over the weekend to see Cynthia and me.

Thank you again for your prayers and help- God continues to open doors for us to share with others the things He has done. We are truly blessed.

He is faithful,

Joey and Cynthia Colson

Colson Update 6/24/05

Dear Friends and Family,

“For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” 2 Timothy 1:12

This is a long one – but today was a big day and we have much to be thankful for!

First and foremost, we want to thank each of you for lifting us up in prayer. We know that churches in California, Missouri, South Carolina, Virginia, Florida, and Pennsylvania are praying for us, along with our many friends and family across the nation. It is amazing and humbling to know that thousands of people are lifting us up and praying for a special healing for Joey.

Yesterday was a day of great encouragement. Joey had CT scans done, but only after having to drink an entire LITER of barium sulfate and also getting an IV of contrast solution. The tastes were awful, but all things worked together because the CT scans showed that there were no other cancer tumors in his body. So, praise the Lord, the cancer has not spread, and is localized!!!

We are also blessed with a remarkable doctor. We do not doubt for an instant that God brought us to him for this time. If you would like to pray for him, his name is Dr. Ron Fisher. He has gone above and beyond and has stayed right on top of everything. He told Joey to call him “Ron”, gave us his email, and also his home and cell phone numbers!

The specialists from UVA finally called Dr. Fisher today, and will be calling us for more testing and consultations either Friday or Monday. After talking with them, Dr. Fisher confirmed that this is an extremely rare form of cancer to begin with, and even more rare to occur in someone over the age of 15. They are optimistic that Joey’s age (22) will help with the success of the treatment. Dr. Fisher even confirmed that in his entire medical experience he has not seen this type of cancer in this exact form. So, we pray that the doctor’s will have wisdom to know exactly how to treat and work with this unique cancer.

The immediate future holds more testing, and will almost definitely be followed with at least one surgery to start, and then there is still the possibility of more surgery and chemo or radiation.

We are thrilled at the blessing of today, and want to focus on that for now – that it is localized and not spread throughout!

Thank you for your continued prayers, and we will do our best to keep you posted. We can already see God’s hand in so many ways and believe that He will use this to prepare us for His purpose in our lives. Please pray for continued miracles, wisdom for the doctors, strength, energy and perseverance for both of us, and that we can use this to be a testimony and encouragement to others.

We love you,

Joey and Cynthia Colson

Hebrews 10:23