Ash Wednesday of this year, February 13, 2013, we learned that Brad's dad has cancer. He went to the ER to have a swelling in his thigh looked at, hoping it was not a blood clot, and after a few tests, it was determined to be cancer. He has rhabdomyosarcoma. It's basically a large tumor that is wrapped around the bones of his thigh. After meeting with the oncologist in Tulsa, it was decided that his best option would be to travel to MD Anderson in Houston for treatment.
Originally, it was thought he would go to Houston, have the tumor removed, and come back to Tulsa for chemo and radiation treatment. However, it is an aggressive tumor and very large, and even if they were able to remove it, there is a 50-80% chance it would return. The new plan is to try to shrink it down to an operable size, which will allow for keeping as much of his leg as possible and keeping it functioning as well. He will undergo 6-9 treatments of chemo that will be 3 weeks apart. After that, he will have 4-6 weeks of radiation and then 4-6 weeks of rehab. This will hopefully reduce the tumor to an operable size.
So it looks like Houston will be a new home away from home for Jimmy and Karen for the next several months. They will fly to Houston every 3 weeks. Treatment will last about 5 days, and then he will be able to come home to Tulsa for about 2 weeks before returning to MDA. That's a lot of flying back and forth! Thankfully there are Angel Flights that fly out of a nearby town to Houston. The Conoco Phillips Company flies to Houston often and they offer their extra seats to patients going to MD Anderson for free! Isn't that amazing?! One less worry!
So please add our family to your prayers. Please pray especially for Jimmy and his wife Karen. They are going to endure so much these next several months and years as they battle this awful disease. He will beat this and with the power of prayer, it will speed up his healing! Thank you all so much.
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