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My last cycle of chemo is FINISHED! Thank God for His unfailing love and mercies. I made it home late Tuesday night and I was exhausted!! The entire day was completely draining, but in the end, I made it home and now I’m once again resting and recovering.

Although we’re close, we haven’t reached the end yet. I still need to have some additional tests and scans done in order to see how my body has been responding and once that is complete, the doctors will review and determine the next steps. Please keep on praying and as always, I’m thankful for them.

Hello! I looked out my window today and the first thought that came across my mind was this, “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it!” It’s a quote from the Bible (Psalm 118:24) and it also happens to be words to a chorus that would always be sung on Sunday mornings. Even in your saddest moments or on days like today, where the sky is full of rain clouds, remember how this day wouldn’t even be here had it not been for our gracious God.

This time tomorrow I will be hooked up to an IV that will, for the next 5 days, be flooding my body with various chemo drugs. Thankfully, it will be my final round. I’m amazed at how fast the time has gone and I’m praying that these next 5 days will fly by just as fast.

I went to Fox Chase early this morning and came home before lunchtime. I had to go in today to meet with the doctor who had place the stent in my liver. When I went in this morning, I was worried that this would be a new routine for me: every few months, I’d have to come back to the hospital to have my stent checked. In our initial conversation, my doctor said that yes, most likely I would need to return every few months, but nothing could be said for certain till he had a chance to look inside. I was a bit bummed, but I didn’t let the feelings consume me too much.

At this point, the doctors put me under anethesia and took me in. It was a very simple procedure. Not much had to be done; the doctor just had to look around and make sure everything concerning my liver was working normally.

Afterwards, I finally awoke and had a chance to talk to the doctor. He said that I looked healthy and normal. My liver is working fine! There aren’t any issues AND I no longer need a stent! Any sort of issues he thought I may have had the first time around (when they first put the stent in) was completely gone. Praise God! Thank you God!

And just as God has miraculously taken me through this, He will continue to lead me over the course of these next few days. It’s amazing how God has continuously been faithful and is always listening to my prayers and yours. Day by day, He shows us how amazing He is.

I’m feeling well-rested and ready to take on the next round. Please continue to keep me in your prayers. Please especially pray that, again, the side effects from the drugs are very minimal and that I don’t suffer from any sort of nausea. Thank you for your prayers.

Hello! I apologize for the lack of posts lately. I try to write when I can, but lately, I’ve been feeling tired and sometimes, it’s hard to get all my thoughts together for a post. I do miss writing and keeping in touch with you though.

But anyhow, this Thursday, I will be going in for my last round of chemo. Praise God! I’m not looking forward to going in this week, but knowing that this is the last round, does make me feel somewhat happy. These past two weeks of being at home have helped me tremendously. I have been able to get back my strength, catch up on a lot of sleep, and watch many of the NFL preseason games and reruns of Family Matters.

So on Thursday morning, I’ll leave from my house and head over to Fox Chase Cancer Center for Round #4. As always, I’m asking for your prayers that God will give me the strength to make it through this next cycle with minimal side effects, including not having any nausea.

Thank you to all of my family and friends for continuing to be with me on this journey; what a crazy journey it has been!

If you don’t remember, early on, there were a few times I had asked for prayers regarding #s associated with my liver. I never had the chance to really explain what happened.

After some tests, scans and initial meetings with my doctors, the doctors were able to see that my liver wasn’t functioning properly due to some blockage. The simplest definition for the liver’s function is to rid your body of toxins; well, my liver wasn’t doing that. It was then that the doctors admitted me to the hospital (June 14, 2010) and within a day or so, I had a procedure done where the doctors placed a stent in my liver. The stent would help to open whatever paths were blocked in order for my liver to work properly. (It’s similar to when stents are placed in heart patients–so the blood gets flowing again.) After the stent had been placed, the doctors would monitor how my body was responding. Chemotherapy could only begin after my liver started functioning normally and hence, a call went out for your prayers. And that’s how I initially spent my time in the hospital.

I know God has heard your prayers and has kept me under His wing because since the stent procedure, my liver has been functioning normally and I haven’t run into any more issues.

Now that we are, hopefully, nearning the end of this journey, I’ll be going to Fox Chase tomorrow, Wednesday, to meet with my doctors. They’ll review and make sure the stent is continuining to work well. They’ll also determine whether or not they will need to replace it. Everything should go fairly quickly tomorrow so that I can return home and enjoy the rest of the day before having to go back in on Thursday for Round 4.

Hopefully I will get a chance to talk to you before treatment begins.
Even though, I can’t always talk to you, know that I am thinking about you and keeping you in prayer.

And a special prayer goes out to all of my friends and family who will be starting college this week; Good luck and Congratulations!

Hello! Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I don’t have too much of an update for you other than I’m doing ok and I’m tired. I think after this third cycle, I’m feeling a bit more tired than normal. For a better idea, it’s not the kind of tired where I feel sleepy; it’s more of “I just ran two back-to-back marathons without any kind of rest” kind of tired. Aside from feeling tired, I’m doing ok. My appetite has fairly stayed the same. I’m eating three meals a day and I haven’t had any issues with nausea. Again, thank you for your prayers; I really appreciate you remembering me and my family during your personal time with God. It is really encouraging to know that I can depend on all of my brothers and sisters in Christ.

As I’m at home recovering, and going a bit stir-crazy I might add, I’ve been spending my time either lying down, reading my Bible, or at least since cycle #3 has ended, watching the NFL preseason games. And for those who are wondering, Yes, I’m still a Giants fan, yes, I will be watching them tonight on Monday Night Football, and yes, I’m still trying to convince my wife that the Giants are the greatest football team ever.

Tonight: GIANTS VS JETS, ESPN 8ET

Looking forward to the 2010-2011 NFL season.

Hello! It’s good to be home
I’m sorry I didn’t have the chance to post much while I was in the hospital. For one, I didn’t have my laptop with me and two, the chemo meds make me so tired that I’m not in the mood to do much of anything. All I really kept thinking about was getting through those 5 days and coming home.

The doctors are really happy with the progress I am making. I can’t believe that I have just one more cycle to get through. It seems like it was only yesterday when the doctors told me that I would have to go through four cycles of chemo. This coming Saturday, the 14th, will be two months since I was first admitted to Fox Chase Cancer Center. Can you believe it? Two months! I didn’t know how I’d be able to manage and get myself through this, but God has kept me under His wing these past two months and I am assured the rest of this treatment will go by very quickly.

Since most of my time has been spent at either my home or the hospital, I’ve missed out on a few events this summer that have occured in the lives of my friends and youth group, so here’s a special message to you…Congratulations!

• Congratulations to two of my closest friends who celebrated their official engagement last month. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be there, but I promise to be there for the wedding. May God bless you both especially as you are working on your wedding plans. I pray that God brings everything together perfectly.*
• Congratulations to two of my youth members who will be celebrating their first wedding anniversary this week. I am really happy that God has brought you two together, especially after many months apart, and even though I haven’t been able to spend too much time with you, I’m sure, soon enough, we will catch up on celebrating. May God bless you both in your married life.*
• Congratulations to all those who are celebrating new engagements, new marriages and anniversaries!
• Congratulations to all of my friends and family members who have new additions to their families. I can’t wait to meet the little ones. I hope the newest moms and dads are catching up on their sleep and easily adjusting to a new way of life. May God continue to bless each family with love and happiness.
• Congratulations to anyone who has celebrated a birthday in my absence. Happy Birthday! I’m thankful God has given you another year to celebrate. Use this year to bring glory to His name and many new members to His Kingdom.
• Congratulations to all of my friends who have found new jobs and passed board exams. Your hard work and studying has paid off! Enjoy this time and celebrate!
• Congratulations to everyone who graduated this year. You have each worked very hard and may God continue to bless you in your future endeavors.

And especially to those who have graduated high school and will soon be headed off to college…

College is a new and exciting experience. It’s a place where some of you may no longer be under the watchful eye of your parents, but remember, you are always being watched by God. He sees all and He knows all. Make sure you maintain and protect your testimony because your testimony may be the only Jesus someone will ever know. Work as hard as you can; invest in your future. Don’t chase after the things of the world because remember, you have been set apart. Never compromise! Never allow yourself to be in a place or situation where you know you shouldn’t be. Use the gifts and talents God has give you to work hard and bring glory to His name.

To all of my friends who have graduated college and are now entering the “real world…” I pray that God gives you the strength you need for each day. I hope He answers your prayers in your job search; may He place you in a position where He will use you to minister to the people around you.

I wish each and every one of you the best of luck. Understand that where ever God places you on your campus or in your company, you are placed there as a beacon of hope and light.

I’m sorry I’m not there to celebrate with you, but know that each one of you are in my prayers. It’s incredibly awesome to just reflect on the past two months and see what incredible and amazing things God is doing in our lives. I am in awe and look forward to the great things He has planned for each of us and our futures.

 Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Psalm 107:8-9 (NLT)

*You know who you are…

(I’m sorry if I missed anyone’s special events.)

Hello everyone! It’s been a few days since I’ve had the chance to talk to you all. I’ve been at Fox Chase Hospital since last Thursday receiving my third round of chemo treatments. I’m so thankful that this third round is over; I had been praying that these past 5 days would fly by and thankfully, it did. I’m hoping that my last cycle will go just as quickly.

Now I’m looking forward to enjoying these next two weeks of rest at home. There is no better place than home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed their weekend. As I was sitting at home this weekend, I thought about the different kinds of things that I would normally be doing if I weren’t sick such as grocery shopping or preparing for a Saturday night Bible study or my Sunday sermon. I miss waking up early on Sunday mornings to get myself ready for church.  I really miss going down to the kitchen and having a nice hot cup of coffee. I miss seeing my family, my friends, and my church. You are all in my thoughts and prayers everyday and I look forward to seeing you all again soon.

So on to my updates for today. First, the bad news: 2 more cycles of chemo. Yep, the doctors called and it looks like that I need to go through with the next 2 cycles as planned.

It can definitely feel discouraging; I’m really not looking forward to any more chemo, but like I said before, God has a reason and purpose for everything. I know for sure that He is working in the background, which leads me to my good news…

The good news is that there has been significant improvement made since being diagnosed. The CT scan shows that my body is doing well and the doctors are extremely impressed with how well I’ve responded to the treatments. In fact, the doctors are not only impressed, but surprised with how well I am doing. This is all just a great testament to what a wonderful work God is doing; He hears our prayers. Although I need to continue with treatments, praise God that things are working the way they should. I’m hoping these next two cycles will fly by and there won’t be any side effects to deal with.

I hope it goes without saying, but as always, I need your prayers. Prayer is what’s keeping me going. And again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much. Thank you for always thinking of me and my family and uplifting us in prayer.

My third cycle will begin this Thurday, August 5th. I’ll be in the hospital receiving treatments for 5 continuous days and then I’ll go home for 2 weeks where again, I will recover and rest till the next cycle begins.

Until next time…God bless and talk to you soon!

Good afternoon! Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their summer vacation. This weekend I’m planning to take a tour through the South and have a taste of some good ol’ Southern cooking – via the Food Network, of course.

Actually, I’m feeling a little better today; although I still get very tired doing the things we take for granted, such as walking up or down a flight of stairs. My appetite is doing ok. I’m eating regular meals; 3x a day, but I can’t handle a lot of a spices so much of what I’ve been eating is extremely bland. But aside from all of that, I’m doing alright.

Tomorrow, Friday, I’ll be going back to Fox Chase to have a CT scan done. It’s similar to an X-ray, except it shows what’s going in my body in much more detail. They’re going to be looking to see how well, or not, my body is responding to the chemotherapy. My deepest desire and prayer is that when they look at these scans, they will find that my cancer is completely removed and I will not have to go through the rest of the scheduled treatments. So please keep this request in prayer.

I’m really hoping the outcome of the scan will say no more cancer, but as always, I leave everything into God’s hands; may His will be done. The first time I was diagnosed with cancer, I prayed in faith that I would not need any surgeries and that miraculously, whatever tumor was in my body would disappear. When the doctors told me that, indeed, the tumor was still there and surgery was needed, I was devasted, but in the end, God was able to work through my circumstance; as I was recovering from surgery, I was able to witness to someone who accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour days before he passed away.

The Lord is our Shepherd and as our Shepherd, He will always do what He can to get back the sheep that has strayed. In our human minds and capability, we would, maybe after a few minutes or instances of trying to convince someone of Jesus’s love, give up. But not our God. He is longing for a relationship with us. He doesn’t want us to be separated from His side. The very thought of being eternally separated from one of His own is so heartbreaking to Him that He sent His one and only Son to die for us. John 3:16 says:

 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (NIV)

You could easily replace the word “world” with your own name.

For God so loved Bryan that He gave His one and only Son…
For God so loved Peter…
For God so loved John…
For God so loved Ben…
For God so loved Stacy…
For God so loved Ann…
For God so loved [insert your name] …

I’ve said this many times before but Christianity is the only religion where God is reaching down to mankind to save them. Believers of most other religions have to work so hard in order to reach up to their god, but my God is reaching down to us. He is looking for the one sheep that has strayed and will do all that He can and go through whatever channels necessary to bring us back to Him.

Ok, so I went on a bit of a tangent there, but it was an important one. I guess my whole point was just that I leave everything in God’s hands because He’s continously working in the background. I trust that anything situation that I face, good or bad, is a result of God’s will in my life. So, whatever the results may be from tomorrow’s scan, don’t be discouraged if we’re not given the answer we are looking for. We never know what His plan has in store for us, but we know that His plan is the best plan.

Please continue to keep me in prayer that in all of this God’s will be done.

I thank God for blessing Sherry & I with 3 amazing years together. Every day has been a blessing and will continue to be so. God has been so faithful to us over these past 3 years and I know He’ll continue to be faithful in our future. Thank you to our parents, brothers, sisters, nieces, cousins, uncles, aunts and all of our friends for your continued prayer and support.

Happy Anniversary!

Hello everyone, I’m sorry that I haven’t written an update in a while.  I’ve been hearing from a lot of people that they were wondering what the latest was and that they were continuing to pray.  I’ve been at home resting since I came back from my second chemo cycle.  The biggest thing is that I’ve just been extremely tired as of late which is why I haven’t written a post in a while.  I’ve just been resting trying to regain my strength in order to get ready for the next cycle to begin on August 5th.  Some days are better than others as far as my energy level and strength go.

The biggest change since the last cycle is that my hair is falling out at a faster rate.  I have a lot more bald spots than before on my scalp.  It doesn’t hurt when it falls but I’ll wake up in the morning and notice it thinning out more and more.  The amazing thing is that I may not know when and where each of those hairs will fall but my God has every single one of them numbered and knows the exact point in time when it will fall and and where it will land.  What an amazing God we serve that he would care to know everything about us even to the minute detail such as when and where a particular hair on my head would fall.