Hope for the future

In January President Bush signed the Gynecologic Cancer Education and Awareness Act, commonly known as Johanna's Law. Johanna died of ovarian cancer, and her sister Sheryl advocated tirelessly for this law, which will provide federal funding for a massive program of education about this largely ignored and hard-to-detect killer disease. Simple screening methods still don't exist, so public education is the best that can be done for now. Several emails listing the vague symptoms of ovarian cancer are making the rounds. If you're a woman, or if you care about a woman, please pay attention. If you haven't seen one, please click on Comments below, and tell me. I'll then post the list as a comment, which you can access at your leisure. (I may not get to it until late next week.)

More good news. Last fall the National Institutes of Health announced that ovarian cancer is one of three (the others are lung and brain) that will be studied as part of the Cancer Genome Atlas. If the three-year project is successful, it could lead to new preventive measures or diagnostic tools and individualized treatment plans.

In the same magazine where I read the above, I also read an interview with a cancer survivor who is the wife of a well-known political figure. Her view of God makes me so sad. She said, "I have come to accept a God who does not intervene in accident, disease, or violence." She went on to affirm that her faith is in the human giving of care and support, which is mutually healing and strengthening--both to the one who gives it and to the one who receives it. I feel sorry for her. I agree that care and support are wonderfully healing and strengthening, but they're no substitute for God. I admit that He allows a terrible amount of suffering and death. But He always stands ready to intervene--if not to heal, then to give a full measure of His presence, peace and comfort.

Yesterday's kemo went well, and the doctor agreed to reduce the pre-infusion steroid (given to prevent adverse reactions) by 60%. We hope this will stop my rapid weight gain. This morning I have the usual day-after-kemo red face, but I feel well and plan to work.

You may have heard that Philip Yancey, beloved Christian author, was in a horrific auto crash Monday, with a likely broken spine and possible punctured aorta. We learned yesterday that he is already back at his home, wearing a "collar" for his neck, and able to type a two-page first-person report of his story. It would be worth looking for that report on the internet.

I'm leading prayers tomorrow morning at the office, following a Lenten theme. We'll sing "How Deep the Father's Love for Us," by Stuart Townend. It ends, "But this I know with all my heart, His wounds have paid my ransom." That's my hope for today and for the future.

Love,
Carol