embrace what scares you.

If you don't think this is one of the scariest things you have ever seen - we have different buttons. It is scary, but God is there.

On Friday Mike had a CT scan and had his radiation mask made. The CT scan will be used along with the pre-surgery CT scan to map Mike's treatment area. The mask is used to hold his head tightly and securely in place during the radiation treatments (so he doesn't move his head and have radiation shot some random place we wouldn't want it to go.) The bottom photo was taken by the nurse right after the mask was formed around Mike's face and they are cooling it with towels to harden it faster. Mike's comment was comforting to me: "I like the mask for the reason that it will keep my head perfectly still. If they told me to 'hold still' on my own I am not sure I could do it." He did say it was even hard to swallow in it because it is so tight. (I get light headed just writing that.)

We start our treatments this Thursday, September 15th at 2:15pm. And we will have them five days a week for six weeks. The 2:15 time slot was picked because 1.) Mike wants to go to work every morning whenever possible and 2.) there is a certain machine that they want to use that is available at that time. We got to visit the room where Mike's treatments will be administered. The walls and ceiling are painted like it is a tranquil outdoor setting. There is an iPod port so Mike said he is starting with Alan Jackson's Hymns CD to be playing in the background. They said we should plan on about 20 minutes treatment time every day. That allows for getting on the table, and the machine starting, stopping, and changing positions, etc..

Please Pray:

-For the Dosimetrist & Dr. Zhen this week as they design the actual treatment plan. THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT. This is what determines exactly what gets radiated and from what angles and for how long. The Dosimetrist is the person who actually designs the plan - the one who avoids the critical structure and targets only the potentially cancer-laden areas. Dr. Zhen works with him and sets up the fractions per day and the total dose. Please join us to pray for these critical decisions.

-And for inner and outer strength for Mike. For effective radiation with as few side effects as possible. For "not a scratch to be found on him" at the end. (Daniel 6:23)