Writing from my parents' kitchen table. We made it safely back to Indianapolis a little over a week ago and are now mostly over jet lag. Since we've been back the girls have all been to the pediatrician, Lydia has started school, and James has had a lymph node biopsy (a fairly significant surgery).
The doctors were hopeful that James's lymph nodes would be clear of cancer, as 50% of the time they are benign (even though they look malignant on the PET scan). Knowing the state of the lymph nodes is key as it not only diagnoses James's cancer stage but also dictates the treatment regimen he needs.
The surgeon just called to let us know that, as suspected, James's lymph nodes are malignant. The biopsy results do not appear to have changed James's cancer staging. They did biopsy lymph nodes from the left side and, thankfully, all cancer is contained to his right side and mid-line. The surgeon's office will put us in touch with an oncologist who specializes in lung cancer so that James can start treatment. He will need chemo and most likely radiation. We will have a lot more questions answered when we meet with the oncologist.
We are all doing well - we have expected "the worst" as we believe God is going to be most glorified in miraculously bringing James through this. We are thankful, though, that the biopsy doesn't appear to have changed James's cancer staging to a worse stage! =)
We so appreciate your prayers & encouraging emails. We do hope to start treatment sooner rather than later, so please pray towards that end.
If you're in the area, James (and I) are up for visitors - contacting us via email is a pretty effective way to get in touch.
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