Biopsy results – Update

Greetings my dear friends and family;

Boy the past few weeks have been FULL, (of emotions, tears, real life, faith, that kind of stuff). As many of you know I was waiting to get a biopsy of one of the several spots that showed up active in my recent PET/CT scan. This was to determine if the cancer had spread and was on the move. I was wanting to have it that next day but it took 2 weeks before they could get me in and another 3 days, (2 1/2 weeks in total), before we got the results. However, “as we wait upon the Lord, He shall renew our strength, we shall mount up with wings as eagles, we shall run and no grow weary”, so true. The biopsy was a very big challenge for the radiology team and it was a full day. As we knew it was a possibility, they slightly punctured my lung in the process which caused a minor collapse. (I just add that for a little drama, they did give me a bullet to bite down on and it healed up fine, no big deal). We had 2 1/2 weeks to process all the what if’s, seek and gain some pretty amazing understanding of God’s heart and His love for us. (I still have a lot of seeking, wrestling, petitioning to do and understanding to be gained, but I know where to turn to). I have had some of the most intimate and deep conversations with my lovely new bride and several difficult, but most profitable ones with Duke. I have realized that my faith was secure in Whom I put it in, I know that I know that I know, that God is good, His love for me is more than I can comprehend and He has had a plan and purpose for my life even before I was born. Do I fully understand Him, no, do I fully trust Him, absolutely. And my faith yet needs to grow in areas that seem beyond my control, especially in the area of my son. I still have many questions about healing, how to battle and stand on His promises and His perfect will in all this. It’s like peeling back an onion.

We are so ever grateful for all of the words of encouragement, prayers and love we have / and are receiving on a daily bases. They continue to be such wind for our sails and affirms that we are on the right path.
Thank you, thank you, thank you !
We are praying daily for you that wherever you are in your faith, that as you ask, pray, petition God on our behalf, that He meets you at this special, special place and reveals Himself to you in new and exciting ways, and that He hears you and grants your prayers for your sake as well. We have this incredible PEACE and even Joy overflowing, it just makes no sense in the practical, but yet it does because our Heavenly Father has heard every single one of your prayers and because of these petitions, we are being carried Big Time. For me personally, (as it has already been for many of you), it is now a call to arms.

Rather then recreate the wheel, I have cut and paste below an e-mail that Maria put so well in an e-mail she just sent out to a hand full of friends. It sums up the results and where we are at up to now.

Ever so grateful,
Richard Felipe

Check out richardfelipe.com for past updates and more.

Quote of the day: (what movie used this quote ?????)
“Death is more universal than life, everyone dies but not everyone lives”
– Alan Sachs

From Maria:

Hello everyone. Please forgive me for being slow to communicate back to you with the results. I consider you as warriors alongside us in this war, and I want to keep you as up to date as possible so you know SPECIFICALLY what to be praying for.

That being said, I wanted to give you an update from last Thursday’s doctor’s appointment which was the results from the lung biopsy taken last Monday. After surveying the pathology report, the oncologist relayed that the nodules on the lungs were “suspicious” of cancer….
Which was confusing for us to hear. Are they or aren’t they cancerous? He went on to say that it’s his job to take what the pathology report says and couple that with what he already knows about Richard’s cancer type/history and make an education diagnosis. His diagnosis is that the nodules are cancerous, which then leads him to believe that the lymph nodes that had ‘activity’ (showed up) in the last Pet scan are most likely also cancerous. (Two lymph nodes in his neck and three in his abdomen)

Our options:
Option A) Return to chemo, but a different type, as it’s obvious that the ones he had Richard on before don’t have the most favorable result.

Option B) Get a second opinion. He recommends USC or there are also two reputable cancer facilities in NY and/or Houston.

Option C) Become part of a clinical study which would allow him part of groups that are being treated with non-approved drugs/combination of drugs.

Though we had to somewhat prod for further info, our doctor did restate that this is most definitely stage 4 cancer and that we could label it ‘terminal’, as this type of cancer would definitely lead to death if not treated successfully. Praise God, his liver looks great.
We weren’t given a best case/worse case scenario of life expectancy, and we didn’t want one. The doctor agreed that we have a lot to determine in regards to our options and to see how Richard would respond to chemo. The hope would be that the new chemo would keep the cancer at bay and perhaps even shrink the cells/nodules.

Other than the above, Thursday was a pretty good day! 😉 hahaha

In ALL seriousness, I cannot hardly describe the peace that we had in that doctor’s appointment, which I KNOW came as a direct result of fervent prayer/fasting during the previous two weeks. We heard, really heard, what the doctor had to say and left the appointment saying, “OK, now we know what our enemy is….are we ready to fight this fight?” Bottom line: Richard has cancer and it appears to be spreading through the lymph system.

THIS IS WHERE GOD TAKES OVER! We have no doubt that the Lord has allowed Richard to go through cancer/radiation/chemo/surgery/more
chemo for a reason, but it’s obvious that He wants to go further/deeper/more far-reaching! Our God is a God of miracles, of that I have NO doubt. I pray with all my heart that God will heal my husband completely; that His will be done and not mine; that He will meet all of you in your prayers for Richard as well; that we will all see the miracle of long life. Come Lord!

I also know that, because of Richard’s ordeal, more people are getting on their knees and praying then ever before. God is causing so many of us/you to not push off “getting right” with the Lord, to REALLY talk with Him, ask of Him on our behalf. For this I thank you, but I also know that each of you have your own “Richards” in your life, those things that need healing, need to be resolved, need breakthrough… things that YOU, alone, can’t fix/change/remove… it will take a Supernatural intervention and nothing else. THAT’S WHERE W’RE AT and, often times, exactly where God needs us so that we are dependent on Him and only Him. I wish it didn’t take such desperate things to make us fall to our knees, but what else would do it? When life is all roses, when things are progressing “as planned”, we just don’t have the urgency… plain and simple! All this to say, we are thankful for Richard’s cancer and for what it has done in our lives and what you have shared it doing in your lives as well! And so, with an honestly thankful heart, I implore my Lord for more: more healing, more wisdom, more patience, more love, more trust, more understanding of Him and His ways…MORE, LORD!

As of right now, Richard’s sister is going to start researching the two cancer facilities in NY and Houston and we need to do our due diligence and research other traditional and alternative options. It appears a bit overwhelming, which is why we’re in such need of wisdom.

THANK YOU for your continued prayers. I hope that you’re ready to join us in this fight. The war continues… For how long, only God knows, and we’re OK with that. The Lord knew the day each of us would be born and He knows the day we will die. It’s what we do with the days in between, and WHO we do it for, that He’s most concerned with!!

We love you all and are blessed for your friendship and support!!

—
Maria Felipe (Abeyta)
310-254-8578 cell