Special news

"We may make our plans, but God has the last word." (Proverbs 16:1)

I was talking with a friend the other day about a tragedy that had happened to someone. I had felt sad about the tragedy and frustrated that the person involved would now be limited in what they could do. My friend said 'But we do not see the whole picture - we do not see what God is doing'.

Today we received some special news about Catherine's treatment. You may remember that last year Catherine was offered randomisation as part of a trial concerning treatment for ALL. The usual treatment for ALL was two intense doses of chemotherapy, and each of these chemicals, whilst being the right chemicals to kill the bad cells, meant that the risk of long-term side effects could increase.

At the time, God told us that we would only receive one dose of chemotherapy: http://catherineisgreat.blogspot.com/2009/01/randomisation-results.html
We were both a bit nervous about this because if we agreed to the single dose, we didn't know if it would be the best decision. However, because we both felt so strongly that God was saying Catherine would and should receive one dose, we went ahead with the single dose.

Today at the hospital we bumped in to a lady whose daughter was also receiving treatment and she told us that the results of the trial had come through.

The single dose of chemotherapy has now become the standard treatment for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia. No benefit can be found in having the two doses of treatment. It will also mean that for some children diagnosed with ALL in the future, they will have a shorter and less intense treatment regimen. Less side effects, less nausea, less time with hairloss, less time with infections, less time with low immunity.

One dose of chemicals such as Doxorubicin will reduce the possible side effects of additional cancers and leukaemias that could have been prompted by over treatment.

A year later we have found out that Catherine has been on the best possible treatment for her particular diagnosis. She has received the best possible dose and did not receive the second dose of chemotherapy. In the future, because of the trial and the hard work of the research doctors, children will be able to receive lower doses of chemotherapy with the same excellent results.

I thank God for his guidance in this decision and the fact that Catherine received exactly the correct treatment plan, even amid the uncertainty at the time. Trusting God may not always be easy when we cannot see the fuller picture, but I thank him that he continues to hold us in the palm of his hand.