Oncology and Theology

Before getting to yesterday's oncology appointment, one bible story about trusting "the God we serve" under duress keeps popping up in my head. It's the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Maybe you'll see why it seems relevant. The King of Babylon is about to throw three guys in a giant oven for not discarding their faith in God publicly. They refuse one last time, and they say...

“King Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

That's it. Maybe the relevance is obvious, but even if Pastor was literally thrown into a blazing furnace, we know that God has power to deliver him from it.

Right?

Sunday school kids would say yes. Whether the "burning furnace" we face is cancer now, treatment complications later, or something we can't see yet, we know that God has control. "But even if he does not..." That's actually the example these Godly men set that I find the most comforting. Even if he does not deliver Chester from a specific threat, nothing changes about our faith. For S,M+A, Jesus showed himself in the fire. They saw "four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." But even when Jesus doesn't miraculously intervene or physically make his presence known, he is with us. As we attended our oncology appointment on Tuesday, many possibilities felt threatening. We had been told many times along the way that "very aggressive chemo" would be recommended due to Chester's ability to "tolerate it." We prayed after we filled out the initial paperwork and then had plenty of time to wait for any new news from the oncologist as we rehashed the story of this summer's ER visit and recovery from surgery with a nurse and a resident.

As we met with the oncologist, we were mostly relieved. Relieved that there will be clear recommendations soon, and they are NOT likely to involve chemotherapy. Relieved that although there are (likely, biopsy pending) three malignant tumours present in the liver, they are still very small and there may be an option to burn them out with radiation at this time.

Relieved that our oncologist seemed competent and truly passionate about his work, willing to problem-solve, and willing to understand our concerns about various side effects of treatment. He'll be bringing Chester's case before other doctors for a larger conversation this week and we'll talk with him again soon. We were truly exhausted after anticipating a 1 hour appointment and then spending almost 3 hours of waiting at the cancer centre interspersed with intense discussion. We were downloading and digesting so much new information about what treatment options are possible right now. One option we discussed at length was our oncologist's recommendation for a regimen involving two immunotherapy drugs - for some cancer patients that have a genetic componant to their cancer, like Chester this is a newer, highly promising treatment for controlling cancer.

Thank God our kids were in good hands with extended care at their day home, what a blessing Rachel has been! We door-dashed Chipotle bowls to our house on the way home and collapsed. We are not somehow immune to the exhaustion that comes with navigating both the overwhelming threats of dying and widowhood, and the physical discomfort that Chester's been through this summer. But we are praising God that we can rest in him amid and between these times of trouble. We had an amazing Monday this week. We got to take a new family at our church (who just arrived to join their family here in Canada after 4+ years of planning and anticipation!) on a little outing to Elbow Fa

lls. We all got to breath deep, watch the kids throw rocks into glacial water, enjoy a waterfall and a new friendship. Even when something feels close and scary we know He's close(r) and in control. And sometimes, we can even rejoice in something about this cancer journey right now - Hearing that we have a reprieve from wrestling with a recommendation for chemo was the best news we'd heard in a while.