How did you go bankrupt?

Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.

- Ernest Hemingway

Cancer treatment is a bit like that. New developments come suddenly, with some stretches of waiting in between.

Since my last update ten days ago, we have gradually been making progress. After meeting with my medical team here, we decided to ask for another perspective before proceeding with treatment.

This is when it's handy to have a brother who is a talented medical doctor and research scientist! My brother works at the University Health Network in Toronto, which has a specialized program for treating sarcoma, plus a world-leading thoracic surgery department. They were willing to look at my case, so I gathered all my medical images and samples and sent them off to Toronto.

Our big questions were whether chemotherapy should come before surgery, and which surgery would be best. We had been praying for a really clear opinion on these questions, and today that's what we got. I will share some of those details when they are fully ironed out, but for now I thank God for this answer to prayer.

It seems that the "gradual" part will soon give way to at least a few "sudden" things: for instance, my first round of chemotherapy. Still, we need to pray for this plan to come together. I will likely need care from multiple medical teams at several institutions. I may also need to travel for treatment from the most qualified surgeon.

Through it all, I am praying for God's healing. I leave it to him whether he heals directly by a miracle, or through a some marvelous combination of medical science and the human body's natural resilience.

And please also join me in praying for God's other blessings: that I will grow in grace and likeness to Christ, that I will be humbled and strengthened in a fuller dependence on God, and that all of God's other good purposes will be fulfilled, until finally his kingdom comes in glory, and his name is honored everywhere.

That day is coming, first gradually, and then suddenly.