Three weeks ago I finished my last round of chemo/radiation. My treatment regimen included taking oral chemo pills twice a day and weekday radiation therapy. This lasted for 5 1/2 weeks.
While the side effects of this treatment were much better than my first round of chemo, it was still rough on me. I experienced a lot of fatigue, which led to a lot of sleeping. Some days I would be asleep 12-15 hours. It is hard to describe how tired and sleepy I was most days. I also developed a stomach ulceration. This was due to the radiation therapy happening near my stomach, which made it really difficult for me to eat solid foods. I went several weeks struggling to eat, which became rather depressing. It is amazing how much of our lives revolve around eating, and when that is gone it can have a terrible effect on you emotionally and mentally. I was there for many days during this treatment.
As you can imagine, those weeks were also very hard on my family. I wasn’t able to do much other than sleep, which I hated but I couldn’t do anything about it. My wife found a way to keep things as normal as possible for our home. Another side effect of having cancer is massive amounts of stress on the family. Jen and the kids have managed it so well, and thankfully life has been pretty normal for everyone. We have enjoyed celebrating birthdays (Ella and Claire), and we had a great time celebrating Easter with all our family. It has been good to have friends and family visit and to be able to make a little backyard campfire to sit around and talk.
Right before I started radiation, our family had a couple of events occur that has brought great joy and memories for us. First, I was able to baptize our third child, Claire, who has professed faith in Jesus. So many of our family attended the service, and we had a huge family lunch afterwards. As soon as we finished eating, we jumped in the car and headed to Jacksonville, FL, for a 5-day cruise to the Bahamas! It was good to do this as a family, since Jen and I were unable to go on the cruise to celebrate my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary last November with my family. Our kids have become pros at this cruise thing, and they had a blast showing us the ropes.
One of the things the doctors told me about radiation treatment is that my body would feel the effects of the radiation a couple of weeks after the treatments ended. In fact, I was warned that my fatigue could get worse even though I was no longer being zapped. Thankfully, after a week or so my strength, energy and appetite began to return. I started feeling really good, and was able to go back to work some. The Lord knew what he was doing when he put me in this job, with this company. My boss (who is more of a friend to me than a boss), has been so kind and patient with me, and has allowed me to work when I can and take the time that I need to recover.
My energy returned in time for me to head to the beach for a 3-day fishing trip with all the Ratcliff and Aiken men. My father-in-law planned it, and Reese was so excited to be with his cousins and to get out of school to go fishing. We caught a lot of fish, ate a lot of food, shared a lot of laughs, and enjoyed lots of good conversation.
Let me wrap this up by sharing with you what is next for me in this cancer battle. I have a scan scheduled for the middle of June to see what impact the treatments have had on the tumor. Unless something miraculous has happened, we are not anticipating a future surgery. I have scheduled an appointment with a doctor who specialized in integrated medicine to help me with different approaches to manage some symptoms and effects of the cancer.
Today, as I write this update, I am feeling really good. Tomorrow may be different, but I am thankful for each day. We have a fun and busy summer planned, and I hope to catch more fish! Your prayers, calls, and expressions of care have been sustaining us over these last 6 months. Thanks for taking the time to read this update, and please let it help you know how to continuing praying for us.
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