For you rach .....dr. Hemric

Hey rach... Julie sent this to me and I don't have your email so I thought I would post the information on here....
Dear all those we love in Christ,

I decided to send "group" Emails to update everyone on Kelly's condition
rather than posting on my Xanga site. I wish I had the time to communicate
with each of you personally, but it is impossible.

Since I added a few people to my "list," let me quickly get everyone to
Kelly's present condition. Kelly started having GI problems at Christmas
and finally went to the doctor in early March. Her condition was diagnosed
as "irritable bowel syndrome." After finally being referred to a
gastroendocrinologist, he decided to do a colonoscopy just in case
something structurally had changed. Kelly had a colonoscopy on March 31st
and the colonoscopy discovered a growth in her upper rectum. We were
shocked since she was negative for every "risk factor" and there is no
cancer on either side of Kelly's family. The biopsy from the colonoscopy
was benign. However, when we meet with the surgeon, he thought it was
cancerous after a physical examination and order a CT scan and surgical
biopsy. The surgical biopsy confirmed his diagnosis that the growth was
cancerous. Kelly and I then met with the radiologist and oncologist about
radiation and chemotherapy. The approach was to shrink the tumor with
radiation, with the chemotherapy assisting the radiation. Then, do surgery
after a 4-6 week "rest" and follow up with another series of chemotherapy.

Yesterday she had a portacath placed under her skin at her collarbone and
entering a vein just before her heart. Today, she had a PET scan to look
for other potential cancerous cells. The radiologist said there were
"spots" on her lung in the CT scan but not to worry since they see those in
many patients due to injuries, etc,. The PET scan showed otherwise; the
spots appear to be cancer cells. So, the "start chemotherapy" oncology
visit tomorrow is now a "what our new strategy will be" visit. They won't
do radiation but have to start some type of more rigorous chemotherapy.

I thank you for your prayers for Kelly, the kids and me. God has brought
this into our lives for a purpose and we draw strength from His promise to
carry us through it. Specifically pray for Kelly's spirit. She is
physically and emotionally drained as she goes from one procedure to
another, one diagnosis to another. Hope one minute turns to disappointment
the next minute. Pray that she'll concentrate on the "what is" and not the
"what if." In these times we must realize that the God knows and holds our
future. We must trust Him with our hopes and not fear.

Love,
Mark