Ted Fights Cancer | September 2024 – November 2024 Updates
September 9th, 2024
Quick update and prayer request:
The PET scan last week showed the disease is still stable, thank God! 
On a less than positive note, Ted has had some soreness above his port and they found a blood clot along the port line in that spot above his port. They had to start him on blood thinners right away. Thankfully they don’t have to remove his port and feel they can treat it with medication. He was still able to start the new treatment today. All is well so far with the new treatment.
Please pray the blood clot clears up soon and without any complication, that the side effects of the new treatment are minimal if any, and that this new treatment is quick and effective at shrinking the tumors to nothing! 
Thank you all.
October 14th, 2024
Doesn’t he look so good!?!
I know I haven’t posted an update in a while… we have a huge prayer request and a bit of a praise report/update.
First and most important thing: Ted has both CT and PET scans tomorrow! These are the first scans since starting the clinical trial a few weeks ago. He’s had two cycles of the clinical drug at this time. We NEED the tumors to have shrunk SIGNIFICANTLY! We need improvement in order to open up the option of surgery, which, aside from a sudden miracle from God, is Ted’s best chance of beating the cancer completely.
Not only is tomorrow scan day, but it’s Teddy’s 39th birthday!!! These HAVE TO be great results, right!?!!?? Let’s all flood God with so many prayers for AMAZING scan results! What a perfect birthday gift that would be to get confirmation of the healing we feel and believe is happening! Please pray extra hard over the next 24 hrs for Teddy!
The scans are at 2:30pm-3ish and about 5:45pm tomorrow.
Now for the update and praise report: Ted is feeling pretty darn good right now. He’s building some strength back, eating well, maintaining weight, growing hair back, and hasn’t had to have fluids drained in a month and a half!!
This new drug has far less side effects, so he’s not feeling nearly as sick and is feeling the best he has all year. He’s enjoying life more than he has all year. We are fully taking advantage of every good day we can.
If you caught the last updates, he did have a blood clot back right before starting this treatment and they started him on blood thinners right away. That cleared up pretty quickly, but he will remain on blood thinners for a while. His liver enzymes spiked after starting this treatment, but after close monitoring, they did level out and are not a concern at this time. Everything is going as well as it can be right now as far as we know. We are excited for the scans tomorrow to hopefully give us confirmation that things really are improving!
Thank you all, again, for all the love, support, and prayers. We’re so thankful for our amazing community and support system.
Please join us in prayer for miraculous results tomorrow!!
October 16th, 2024
Wanted to update everyone on the scan reports. Unfortunately, they aren’t the results we hoped for or expected. The CT reports showed no change. The PET scan report showed mild growth, including a new spot near the pelvis, but no metastasis outside the abdomen areas where they’ve been. We have not spoken with a doctor yet, and we might not get to until Monday. For now, we will continue forward knowing God is the ultimate healer and praying He will make a way.
Thank you all for your prayers and kind words. We appreciate it very much.
October 21st, 2024
Continuing forward with this treatment for now. Thanks for all the prayers and encouragement.
November 24th, 2024
Tomorrow is scan day! Ted has a CT scan and PET scan tomorrow afternoon and evening. He’s done two more cycles of the clinical trial drug since the last scans. He is still feeling pretty good, with the exception of some mild side effects on infusion weeks, and we consider that a HUGE blessing. We are praying so hard that the scans will show improvement! If you missed it, the last scans showed mild growth, which could be worse, but it is also going the wrong direction. Please say an extra prayer tomorrow for miraculous improvement!
To be completely honest, it’s hard not to be discouraged after 11 months of battling so hard with minimal improvement. We are still clinging to our faith, but we are exhausted. Unfortunately, it’s just something you can’t understand unless you go through it. We’re taught that God’s healing does not depend on our works, but there’s never a shortage of people asking if you’ve done this or tried that or have you prayed this way or watched that sermon or pastor… are you believing the right way? Are you praying the right way? Are you speaking the right way? It’s so easy to judge and/or critique when you’re not in the storm yourself. It’s all with good intentions, and I appreciate that, but it leaves us (or me at least) feeling endlessly overwhelmed. And then there’s the people who don’t understand why it’s such a big deal (it’s just cancer, right?
) and why our life isn’t back to normal yet or why we are making the changes we are having to make. No one would like to get back to life and business as usual more than we would.. trust me. But we’re still in the worst of the battle with a long road ahead from what we can see. We appreciate so much that people care and how much they care.. just be gentle, friends. Try to be understanding. Our whole life has been blown to pieces this year. We are praying and believing and we will continue to do so, but we are extremely exhausted and drained and we’re beyond ready for some big results.
These things don’t apply to everyone and, again, we appreciate so much having all the love, prayers, and support, so please don’t get me wrong. Just be gentle, please. Love you all and thank you for continuing to pray and believe with us.
November 27th, 2024
The most recent CT reports and the PET scan report all show no change. No growth, which is good, but also no shrinking.
We are thankful it hasn’t grown anymore, but disappointed there’s no improvement.
We are still hopeful for a miracle, and at this point, that seems the only chance Ted has. Stable results buy time, but they aren’t promising long term, as treatment plans eventually max out. On the medical side of things, surgery is Ted’s best chance of survival and beating it altogether, yet he can’t get to surgery unless it shrinks significantly as they’ve already said they’d have to remove too many organs that he wouldn’t be able to survive a surgery. While the cancer has not metastasized to other organs, there are so many tumors and so much of it surrounding his organs that they would have to take so much around it as well. There is a large mass in his abdomen and another pretty large cluster/mass in his pelvic area and several small tumors surrounding each mass.
This drug he’s on has minimal side effects and offers decent quality of life compared to other treatments, but it’s also not shrinking it, so far anyway. I don’t know if that could turn around at this point. Other treatments available are 2nd line treatments, likely with worse side effects and also not typically as aggressive either, especially considering how much there is to shrink. If we have to, we will pursue whatever the doctors recommend, including these other treatment options. There is also a chance that another promising clinical trial could become available.
Most people we’ve connected with that have had DSRCT saw results with the first treatment Ted did (VDC/IE), and many reached a point of surgery. It’s very frustrating that he’s undergone so much treatment with so little improvement.
All this said, I know God is able to work outside and above and beyond medicine and medical treatment. I’m just sharing the details of what we’re up against on the medical side of things.. just what they’re telling us. I know God is bigger than any of it. We welcome and are open to healing in any way God will give it, and that’s why I’m trying so hard to remain in a place of surrender, open to whatever His plan may be and trying to follow His leading.
We’ll know more about the medical path forward after Monday.
For now, we are refocusing on and looking forward to the next few days seeing family, celebrating the holidays, and preparing for a couple busy days at the store. Thank you all again for all the prayers and encouragement. We pray everyone has a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!
