Beautiful oak tree on a lawn with the setting autumn sun shining warmly through its leaves

Dear Friends,

Fall is here and I have been enjoying the crisp mornings and watching the leaves change into their beautiful colors.  Fall is such a great teacher, time to preserve and protect what is within the trunk, and letting go of leaves that sap your energy.  These last few months I have been healing up and regaining strength since my surgery, and I appreciate all your encouragement, messages, texts, cards and letters.

I wanted to take a moment to share an update with you all. Recent tests have shown that the cancer has moved to my liver, with two small nodules in my lung and a lesion on one of my ribs. A liver biopsy confirmed that it is the same clear cell renal carcinoma that was in my right kidney when it was removed in June. Somehow, a few of those rascal cells slipped away, and the doctors were surprised to see them show up so aggressively just three months after surgery, especially since the June scans showed nothing.

I’ve begun the most aggressive chemo and immunotherapy available, with hope that it will shrink these spots and keep things under control. This treatment worked for me before, and I’m praying it will take hold again. Today I’m meeting with a radiologist to see whether the lesion on my 5th rib can be treated directly. They are also running next‑generation sequencing on the biopsy tissue to look for mutations or abnormalities, and testing my DNA to help determine which medicines might work together to stop this new growth. I’m grateful every day for the researchers and doctors from multiple agencies who pour their hearts into this work.

Because of where these lesions are located, surgery isn’t an option, and there is no cure at this time. The best hope is remission — or, the ultimate, if God wills it, another miracle. Kristi and I have been wrestling with this news and preparing our hearts for different possibilities, and it has been heavy.

But I  am choosing to live with cancer while working toward eliminating it, rather than living in fear of dying from it. We continue on our knees in prayer, trusting that God is leading us up this mountain. And if you’re able, we ask you to join us — lifting up prayers for guidance, strength, and healing for our family and the medical team caring for me. There is so much to be thankful for and I feel so blessed to have you as part of my healing community.

God bless you all,

Joe