Dear, dear friend,

Thank you so much for your prayers for me.  I am feeling really encouraged.  Phone calls, e-mails and cards plop into my box almost daily, assuring me that I am loved and prayed for. That is a huge lift for me.  Also in the midst of the tumbling, kaleidoscope of events I am aware of God's love and presence.  

I've been reading a book called "Grace Points" by Jane Rubietta.  A few comments have seemed particularly appropriate for my situation:
" God is good and our future is held securely in His strong hands, and every event of our life is intended us to tow us more deeply towards dependency on Him... Wherever God leads the results will be good... I cling not to the unknown future, or to the been-there, done-that past, but to the God I know, to the faithful, just, loving, Holy God who claims me as His child and will always tote me in the right direction, like a baby propped on a strong arm and bobbling along for the ride."

You can see where I am going in my thinking. My job is to trust and depend on God who carries me through.  Thank you for helping me, by prayer, to experience God on this journey.  You will agree, He never fails.

The doctors tell me that this treatment is very experimental. We are expecting approximately another four weeks of radiation treatments and chemotherapy which happen concurrently. After that the surgeon will look at my arm again and assess how the tumour has responded to this aggressive treatment. Although I realize that I am in a battle for my life, the current battle is definitely to save my arm. I was told yesterday that the decision at the end of this next month will be between excision of the tumour or amputation of the arm.  Please pray that the tumour will respond to the treatments and shrink.  I can't imagine that any tumour would have the temerity to keep growing in the face of this treatment, being zapped daily, but this is a very nasty beast.

The previous paragraph sounds very alarming. Setting against all that, the PET scan showed NO evidence of spread of cancer to other parts of my body. That is truly amazing!  My day to day experience at the moment is good. The modern anti nausea drugs are helping me to cope and even enjoy eating. I find many opportunities to have fun, and convey the joyful sustaining presence of God to an army of nurses, technicians and doctors who are all giving me excellent care.  Karen's sister Sue was a wonderful, helpful, refreshing gift last week.  She returned to Oregon yesterday. Please pray for her as she dives back into her busy life. As she left, my friend Val Hodgkin arrived from UK to be with me through these crucial weeks of treatments.  Please pray for her family left behind in England.

Please continue to pray for healing. I'd also ask you to join with me in thanking God that he is in control of every aspect of our lives. Pray for his sustaining power so that I can glorify him in every detail of every day no matter what the final outcome of this war will be.  

I love to hear from you.  I'm really interested in your life too. Please write if you have opportunity.

Much love and many thanks,

June.