Good News -- Bad News!
GOOD NEWS BAD NEWS!
Let me begin by saying, “Mahalo Nui Loa” for everyone’s prayers, love and friendship! You guys are INCREDIBLE and God is ANSWERING in so many amazing ways!!! Becky and I couldn’t hope for a more devoted family, a more loving fellowship at Crossroads Christian Fellowship and Kauai Bible College, a more gracious ohana of churches across Kauai or a more faithful group of friends – both near and far!! May the Lord return to each of you an overflowing measure of the grace, kindness and genuine concern you have shown and demonstrated toward us!
And now, for the long overdue “Good and Bad” update! Actually, whether presenting the gospel or an update on my “Epic Cancer Adventure”, the order really should be: “Bad News/Good News” since it’s impossible to fully appreciate the “good” without first acknowledging the “bad”!
So here goes my “Bad News/Good News” cancer update:
1. Bad News: I still have cancer!
2. Good News: I still have cancer!! (You’ll have to read my previous posts at http://www.crossroadskauai.org/category/bobs-epic-adventure/ to fully appreciate my perspective!) LOL
1. Bad News: I’m a vegan and no longer eat beef, chicken, pork, seafood, sugar, processed foods, dairy and most carbohydrates! (No more sushi, pork hash, baked manapua, poke, kalbi, kalua pig, fried rice, coconut shrimp, ginger chicken, etc – except for once a week and/or when Becky’s not watching!!)
2. Good News: I am down to my natural high school weight, have “perfect” blood panel results, have more energy/endurance and feel better overall than I have in years!
1. Bad News: I’m just as ugly as ever!
2. Good News: My overall health, natural weight loss and improved complexion are inspiring a lot of people to go vegan! (For what it’s worth, eating vegan cures almost everything that ails you but taxes, original sin and a turtle-like jaw line!)
1. Bad News: I recently saw my urologist for the first time since he originally diagnosed/biopsied me in April of 2017 and he was visibly alarmed!
2. Good News: He took a step back, looked me up and down and said, “You look GREAT (as in “Wow, you’re not dying”)! I thought you’d be really sick by now! If I didn’t know better, I wouldn’t believe you have cancer at all!”
1. Bad News: He asked me if I planned on contacting my oncologist to start radiation treatments! (He really wants me to live and the best hope I have medically is to radiate the cancer before it spreads to other parts of my body)!
2. Good News: When I answered his question by asking him whether radiation and chemo cause secondary cancer (cancer caused by the treatment itself), he admitted that they often do (not to mention a host of other devastating short-term and long-term consequences)! He then acknowledged that my non-medical protocols were clearly more effective and less injurious to quality of life than radiation or chemo. His advice: “Keep on doing whatever it is you’re doing because it’s working better than anything we can offer you!”
1. Bad News: From June of 2017 to February 8 of 2018 my PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) rose from .5 to 1.14 to 2.05 to 6.3 – essentially doubling every two months!
2. Good News: As a result of our research and in speaking with knowledgeable medical experts who excel in the holistic (non-medical) treatment of cancer, we are assured of the following: a) The PSA test itself is increasingly falling out of favor in the medical community and has been deemed unreliable, b) Despite the unfavorable trajectory, my current PSA scores remain very low, c) A rising PSA score can mean an increase in cancer, BUT it can also be an indication of “apoptosis” – the “die off” of cancer-causing pathogens. Long story short: The non-medical protocols I’m utilizing strengthen my immune system, which in turn attacks the cancer cancer-causing pathogens resulting in “apoptosis”, which in turn produces temporary inflammation, which in turn generates an elevated “false positive” PSA score as the body eliminates the aberrant microbes and returns the cells to their original healthy state. In other words, I can expect my PSA numbers to continue to increase until my immune system decommissions the balance of the cancer-causing pathogens and restores the compromised cells to their “original factory settings”!
1. Bad News: It may take me another 6-18 months for my body to completely heal and be considered “cancer free”!
2. Good News: I still LOVE having cancer! I ENJOY the challenge and TREASURE the growth it has produced! I am AMAZED at the unexpected platform of ministry it has opened before us! I am HUMBLED by how God is using it to encourage, inspire, strengthen, comfort and reach people, both near and far, with the truth of God’s redeeming love, the power of prayer and the saving Gospel of His Son, Jesus Christ!
Romans 1:16 "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes ..."
Becky and I LOVE you all, APPRECIATE your friendship and will be forever GRATEFUL for your generous spirit of ALOHA!