Saturday afternoon, April 25 -- the lung and the choices

Hi Everyone -- We are home. Julie's X-ray showed two things: 1. Her pneumothorax is essentially healed, 2. she, unfortunately, has some fluid around the base of the lung that had the pneumothorax. That fluid is what is causing the pain/coughing, etc. Dr. Brown prescribed an antibiotic and will continue to monitor Julie. The concern is that she could develop pneumonia. Please pray that Julie can rest and that her body will address the problem and get her back on track.

Julie is still considering what choice to make regarding her treatment (of course, we need to make sure any/all lung issues are resolved before moving forward). The consensus opinion from UT (our second opinion) is that Julie undergo surgery first, then chemo -- the opposite of what our original doctors recommended! However, having listened to all the doctors and done as much reading as we can on the issues, we realize that there is a persuasive case to be made for each course of treatment (i.e., chemo then surgery or surgery then chemo). And, of course, there are pros and cons to each course of treatment. Doing surgery first will enable the doctors to fully realize the size and nature of the invasive tumor. However, chemo first will immediately attack the invasive cancer and, more importantly, any other yet-undetected "rogue" cancer cells that may be looking to put down roots elsewhere in Julie's body. There are more pros and cons for each approach but they, in the end, are all very nuanced.

Each of the four doctors (Drs. Brown, Ibach, Bell, and Panella) stated that no one will be able to say that one course of treatment is substantively better or worse than the other; both approaches are designed to get her to the same place in terms of eliminating the cancer. Additionally, Julie will be receiving both treatments (surgery and chemo) no matter which one she decides to go with first. Nevertheless, this is an important decision that Julie will ultimately need to make, and I want her to make the decision that she believes in her mind and in her heart is the best decision for her. I've heard the arguments for both courses of treatment, and no matter what one Julie chooses, I will support her and love her through it, all the way to recovery.

Our family thanks all of you for your continued prayers, thoughts and support. The food, helping hands, and understanding from everyone is genuinely appreciated and cherished.

Please pray especially for Julie this weekend. Pray that she will be vested with a heavenly clarity about her choices and a spiritual peace once her decision is made.