A SEMPLE JOURNEY...

More than a month has passed by since we last posted the Semple Journey on Nov. 16, but a lot has happened. I have had 15 radiation treatments and have started a new round of chemotherapy. Dr. Ajani at MD Anderson wanted me to continue herceptin with lapatinib, but FDA has not yet approved the latter for esophageal cancer, so Dr. Ajani has suggested an alternate of irinotecan (125 mg) plus 5fu (1800 mg) for about 9 weeks.

I had increased difficulty in swallowing, so I began the radiation in attempt to shrink the tumor. In December I had surgery to insert a feeding tube into my stomach, and since then have only been fed through that tube. Poor Betty has to feed me 4 times a day plus any medications that I take. As you can imagine, this is an extreme amount of pressure and tension on her. A week after the tube surgery, I had surgery in my larynx in an attempt to at least partially restore my voice and now I can communicate better. I was in Baylor hospital on two occasions for about 2 weeks total. Different members of our family stayed with me in my room 24/7. Thank you sweet beloved family! I had received quite a bit of medication, so I don`t remember everything that happened, but I was glad to come home on Thursday Dec 22 for Christmas. Our grand daughter Jami McKinney came home for the holidays from Galveston where she is studying to be a Physician`s Assistant, and she has stayed with us to help her grandmother get used to this new regimen. Jami has slept on a chair in the hospital and the couch at our house for her Christmas holiday. Thank you Jami!

Tomorrow Jill and Jody will take us, to see Dr. Denham at Baylor Oncology, and we will learn more about future treatments. Dr. Ben Macklin began his ministry with the wonderful people at FBC Stephenville last Sunday, and I am so excited to see what the Lord will do in this new year of 2012!

"I said to the man at the Gate of the Year,

`Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown.`

And he replied, `Go out into the darkness, and put your hand

Into the hand of God.

That shall be better than light, and safer than a known way. "

King George VI                                                                                                             December 25, 1939

Semple Journey 11.16.2011

SEMPLE JOURNEY

  Having finished the first 9 weeks of chemo, it was time to return to MD Anderson for an evaluation and new prescription from Dr. Ajani on November 10. The liver spot seemed less defined (that is good), but the two tumors in the upper and lower esophagus had grown in spite of the chemo, and had coalesced into a single tumor. So Dr. Ajani said that obviously the two chemos were not working, and we would need to change. He said that we should continue with the Herceptin (a genetic by intravenous infusion)) and add another called medication Lapatinib only if the latter would be covered by insurance. If not, he has an alternative suggestion.

   We went to see the Baylor oncologist, Dr. Denham, yesterday (Tuesday). Jill McKinney took us to the hospital and Her sister, Janae Gibson (accompanied by her 5 month old son, Daniel) stayed with Betty and me and took us home. He advised that I should continue Herceptin while awaiting information from our insurance, so I had an unexpected Herceptin infusion yesterday. He also suggested that we meet with a radiologist in the morning to see if radiation would be advisable. He will also attempt to discuss the options with Ajani at MDA.

   Last Sunday November 13th, in the midst of the morning message, my voice just stopped.  Of course, I had to stop preaching, but by the time of the end of the service my voice had returned enough to pronounce the benediction. I think I was just pushing it too much, and believe I will be able to speak on November 27 when I return to Stephenville.

   Meanwhile, Dr. Ben Macklin from FBC Vernon will preach in view of a call at FBC Stephenville this Sunday November 20. He is a fine young preacher with an earned Ph.D. in Systematic Theology from Southwestern. He has an evangelistic heart and a brilliant mind. He loves people and relates well to the community. Sounds like a perfect fit for that great old church in Stephenville and those sweet, sweet people there. The Pastor Search team is to be congratulated for their diligence, patience while waiting on the Lord, and prayerfulness. The staff is to be commended for their faithfulness and willingness to go the second and third...and 4th miles during the interim, and the wonderful people of FBC have picked up the slack if there was some, and have refused to let down. It has been a joyous journey for me, and I hope so for them too.

   Stephenville High plays in the second round of the playoffs Thursday night in Cowboy Stadium. Deacon Darrell Brown in Stephenville has overnighted 2 tickets for Jordan and me to attend the game. I`ve never been in "Jerry`s World", so I am really looking forward to being there to pull for Stephenville. Thank you Darrell!

A Semple Journey 10.29.2011

A SEMPLE JOURNEY

SINCE WE FIRST FOUND out about the cancer on August 8, almost 3 months have gone by. It`s exactly two months today since we went to MD Anderson, and Dr. Ajani prescribed a regimen of 3 chemotherapy sessions which included oxaliplatin and a genetic called herceptin by infusion and Xeloda (capecitabine)tablets taken for 7 days followed by 2 more rounds of 10 days. Last Thursday I completed the third infusion (intravenous), and tomorrow I will take the final round of tablets. Our oldest son Jim and his wife Becky came down to take Betty and me to Baylor Cancer Hospital. Granddaughter Janae Gibson and little baby Daniel came to the hospital and they all 4 sat with me for the 4-hour procedure. (Baby could not go back to that area of course so they took turns entertaining him in the waiting room.)

IT SEEMED TO ME THAT my swallowing had become more difficult, so, through the extra efforts of our son John, an endoscopy was set up for Wednesday October 19 to see if there are any changes in the growths in my throat. The report was faxed to Dr. Denham here and to Dr. Ajani at MDA. We will probably hear from Dr. Denham on Monday and we will see Dr. Ajani in Houston on November 10, but pictures of the growth did not appear to indicate that the tumor had increased in size. Of course that was good news, and I have been swallowing better since then. Things seem to go down better when they are warmed, even much better than room temperature liquids. Next week I`m not scheduled to have any chemo, and I usually feel better that week.

GRANDSON JORDAN McKINNEY gave up an event at DBU this weekend to drive me to Stephenville today and bring me home tomorrow. I told him that I wanted him to go to the event, but he wouldn`t. We are scheduled to ordain 2 fine men as deacons in the morning service tomorrow, and I didn`t want to miss that. I had the delightful privilege of preaching the annual sermon for the Erath Baptist Association Monday October 17, and we had a good time together talking about the 7 golden candlesticks in the first chapter of the Revelation and the churches of the Asia Minor Baptist Association. Lots of great doctrine there about the autonomy of the churches under the Lordship of Christ Jesus and their voluntary cooperation together.

FBC STEPHENVILLE is such a great old church! These folk have been so kind to me, far better than I deserve. The Pastor Search Chairman announced last Sunday that a fine Pastor will preach in view of a call on November 20, and there was great joy among the people! They have been faithful, prayerful, and patient during the interim. Each one has stepped up to fill in the gaps, and they continue to bring people to Jesus nearly every week. They have not allowed attendance or offerings to decline during a 2-year interim. They are an amazing people. They have only had 2 pastors in the last half-century! That`s pretty amazing. I know that the Lord has hand picked a fine pastor suited just for them, and the Lord is so good to allow my path to lie in such pleasant places.

10.7.11

SEMPLE JOURNEY...

  TALK ABOUT A SUPPORT GROUP!

    _____________________

THIS IS A PICTURE of our family that gathered to celebrate Granddad’s 80th birthday back in August. There were maybe a dozen or so who just could not make it, but everyone made a special effort to be there. The event was planned months ago by our children, long before we knew about the bend in the road that we would be taking. I believe there are 47 precious family members in the picture. 14 sons, daughters and grown grandchildren were jammed in the oncologist`s tiny examining room to receive my initial prognosis. He had never seen any thing like that before! What a wonderful family we have...close knit, supportive of each other, love the Lord, always so helpful, and on and on I could go. Betty and I dearly love each one of you, precious family.

FRIENDS FROM ALL across the country have been sending notes of encouragement assuring us of your prayers. This means more to us than you will ever know. A friend who was once a member of our church in Paris, TX. who now lives in Cumming, Ga. sent an unusual gift of a beautiful laminated map of the United States with the states in different colors. She also sent stick-on stars of different colors and suggested that I place a star on each state where someone has sent a message that they are praying for us. I have already placed stars on 10 different states from New Mexico to Georgia and from Wisconsin to Texas.

Thank you, dear friends, for your prayers.

I AM HAVING my second round of chemotherapy. I had two chemo infusions on Thursday of last week, but the time seemed to go much faster this time because I had 3 beautiful women (my wife and 2 of our daughters) sitting with me and engaged in scintillating conversation. I am now taking 6 tablets a day orally for 10 days of chemo. Last weekend I was able to go to Stephenville, make some enjoyable visits in homes, and preach on Sunday. Then on Wednesday I was able to leave home about 6:30am, drive 2 hours to Stephenville, have breakfast with a group of senior adults, meet with our fine staff all morning, keep a few appointments in the afternoon, prayer meeting, and get back home about 9:00 pm. So I am thanking the Lord for His continuing strength.

I THINK I CAN ALMOST HEAR the old Apostle say, "So what do you want a medal? ' I have worked harder, been put in jail oftener, been whipped times without number, and faced death again and again and again. Three times I was beaten with rods, five different times I was given 39 lashes,. Once I was stoned and left for dead, 3 times I was shipwrecked and swam with sharks for a night and all the next day. I have travelled many weary miles on foot, been in great danger from flooded rivers and robbers. I have faced down mobs in cities. I have lived with weariness and pain and sleepless nights. Often I have been hungry and thirsty and have gone without food; often I have shivered with cold without enough clothing to keep me warm.'(II Corinthians 11:23-27Expanded Living Bible paraphrase)  Now what was it you were saying about going down to that town named for the first Christian Martyr who was stoned to death for Christ?" Well, nothing sir. I was just praising the Lord for His grace and strength!

9.23.2011

IT HAS BEEN two weeks since I had the intravenous injection (infusion) of two medications and one week since I concluded the oral ingestion of chemo by tablets. At the conclusion of this first round of treatments, my blood platelet count had dropped to 123, just slightly below the acceptable level of 130. I guess this would be borderline anemia, and I did feel some energy depletion and weakness. My white blood count had dropped to 4.5, but that is still above the lowest acceptable level of 4.0.

    IN THE WEEK that followed, my precious wife, dietician, and Great Physician Assistant (GPA) has been giving me a diet designed to increase platelet level and strengthen me for the next round of chemotherapy which begins next week. I am feeling stronger, my blood work showed an increase in platelets up to 154, and my white blood count (WBC) has increased to 5.4...in just one week! I am feeling stronger, and I am looking forward to going down to Stephenville on Saturday to make pastoral calls,  visit new members and those who have visited our services, and then to preach the glorious gospel of the Son of God on the Lord`s Day. Grandson, Jordan Mckinney, is a senior ministerial student at DBU, and he gives up his Saturdays and Sundays to drive me down there. I think that is great that after going to school all week, he gives up his two days he could use for himself to go with me. We have such a sweet and wonderful family! Each and every one of them stands strong and ready to help each other in our times of need. Thank you friends and family for this wonderful "safety net".

   MY SPIRITS ARE LIFTED every time I think of all the dear people who are praying for us. "I thank God upon every remembrance of you"(Philippians 1:3) and your petitions in our behalf.  We know that the Lord encourages us to pray and promises to hear and to answer when we pray according to His will (I John 5:14-15), absolutely no doubt about it!

   NEXT WEEK ON THURSDAY we begin our second round of chemotherapy. We know that the Lord is the Great Physician and He has the ability to heal with, without, or even in spite of medicine if need be. We totally trust in Him.

   "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." (Isaiah 40:10) A-Men