Preparing for the battle - and scroll down below to get a "prayer pin"

On Wednesday Karen decided to wait on chemotherapy. Her concerns were financial - we hadn't heard back from any of the organizations that were going to provide assistance and then a couple of the drug companies called wanting advance payment for their chemotherapy drugs (over $1000). I was upset and angry at first, but it turns out this was from the hand of God. The following day I got an e-mail out to my prayer warriors (if you wish to join this group let me know by e-mailing me at soulwise@msn.com) and within minutes we heard from a dear friend of ours that a church we were once active in had a large benevolent fund it had to give away by the end of the year. Our friend made the initial request and it's looking positive for the money to get chemotherapy started. Please keep this in prayer. We need to hear soon, like in the next couple days.

Then on Friday Karen received a call from Park Nicollet. One of the drug companies, Glaxo Smith Kline, reviewed our application and agreed to $10.00 instead of the $500.00 for its drugs. They saw on the application that we have children aged 12 and 11 and this was the deciding factor for them. They're scheduling Karen for chemotherapy to begin on Oct. 25 which will give her time to get down to her parents' house and prepare it for sale. All I know is when the saints pray, God moves.

Karen is also reading "Beating Cancer with Nutrition" by Patrick Quillin. A fellow ovarian cancer survivor who refused chemotherapy treatment recommended this book. We've learned that cancer cells thrive and live on glucose - sugar - and when they are denied the vast amount of sugar that we continually feed our bodies, the cells die. It has worked for many. Karen is taking a nutritional approach as well as chemotherapy. This is how cancer was treated long before chemotherapy became the standard of care. On the strength of this, Karen, the girls and I spent time at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods in Minneapolis. We found all kinds of no-sugar goodies. Both Kylie and Shelby say they want to eat better now. Some changes are going to be made.

Sadly, medicine looks askance at any so-called "alternative" approach. Several years ago I was diagnosed with diverticulitis (an inflammation of the colon resulting in infections treated with two of the worst antibiotics you can imagine) and I had the top colorectal specialist in the Midwest telling me to have a surgery to remove two sections of the colon. Somewhere I heard about aloe vera juice. I went to Valley Natural Foods in Burnsville and picked a bottle of this stuff up. It tasted awful! But I drank it every day and stopped eating popcorn (deadly for me) and nuts. The infections disappeared. In the last four years, I've had one flare up of diverticulitis and I cured it with rest and aloe vera juice. My doctor just nodded his head. But these approaches work. Ultimately all of us have to do what is right for us - we know our own bodies - and Karen knows chemotherapy will kill the cancer cells, so she wants to do it, though she's been warned it is an aggressive chemotherapy for an aggressive cancer. But when it's over, and during it, she's going to modify her diet considerably. And the hope and prayer is that this cancer will be killed or put into remission - for good.

Many from our church, Prince of Peace Lutheran in Burnsville, have begun praying for Karen. Karen's childhood church in Shawnee KS, First Baptist, has placed her on their prayer list. There are many throughout the country, indeed throughout the world, remembering Karen, as well as me and our daughters. We are so appreciative and every day I feel that power.

Lastly, our dear friend Nicole Sanders has made some small lapel pin ribbons in Karen's favorite color with a small charm letter "K" on them. They are to remind those of you who are praying for her to keep her in your prayers and when others ask you about it, you can ask them to pray. If you want one of your own, I have some and you can e-mail me at soulwise@msn.com or Nicole at nsanders@mailnparcelplus.com.

God bless all of you,

John J