Just when you think you have a plan:)

We have anxiously been awaiting the arrival of my brother and sister and her husband today. My brother will be flying in from New York and has not been to visit in 2 years! We are excited to give him a warm Texas welcome ! My sister and her husband will be flying in from Nebraska. Both arrive late this evening!

We were busy today getting ready when we received a phone call around 2 p.m. from MD Anderson. They spoke to our radiation oncologist in Waco and he said he would be more comfortable with us seeing the radiation oncologist in Houston at MD Anderson. He felt that MD Anderson has more experience with re-occuring Brain Tumors and the appropriate radiation treatment needed. This being said, they want us back in Houston tomorrow for a 1:30 appointment. The chemo that we were to start tomorrow in Waco, will be put on hold and it looks like treatment may all be done at MD Anderson. So, we will be welcoming my sweet family tonight and then giving them an extra big welcome by leaving them with a very darling toothless 5 year old and a fighting ninja 3 year old. My brother's one request, to not be woken up at 6 a.m. Ooops......

Selfishly I have been so excited for the arrival of my siblings and a weekend at home! It looks like their first day here won't be as planned but I appreciate God's perfect timing and providing the perfect babysitters when needed:) We will update the blog and let everyone know what our appointment says. We hope to be coming back tomorrow to spend time with the family as their visit is very short. If treatment is to begin in Houston next week this will mean A LOT of changes for our family. We have a lot of specific prayers....

Please pray for guidance and wisdom
Please pray for God's plan
Please pray for the knowledge of our Radiation Oncologist
Please pray for Davids persistent headaches
Please pray for this Mama's energy....it is starting to run on empty
Please pray for safe travels for our family tomorrow as we drive back and forth from Houston
Please pray tonight for safe travels as my family will be traveling from Austin and Dallas to arrive to Waco
Thank God for the amazing day he gave us today
Thank God for the miracles he has performed already
Thank God for sweet audrey and her heart as tonight was the First night she decided on her own to pray for Daddy's Cancer
Thank God for placing David's parents 43 years ago in a house they would call home! This home is one mile from MD Anderson and we feel so blessed to have the convenience of family there!
Thank God for ALL the A-Mazing people that want to help our family so bad. If only I knew how....The one thing I do know is to just Pray boldly!


He is Faithful,

Dana

Status Post MRI MD Anderson Appointment

I hope this email finds everyone well.....

Today was an interesting and hopeful day....

We met with our neuro-oncologist at MD Anderson, Dr Prada. We looked at several options, surgery, clinical trials and a regime of Avastin and Radiation. It was concluded that surgery would be very risky at this point. Given that we just had surgery three months ago. Also, the tumor is close to what would be my right side mobile functions. Going into surgery we would risk getting too close to this part of the brain. We also talked about clinical trials. Some of the best therapies come from clinical trials. The problem would be, I would have to be off all medication for 4 weeks. Given the size of the tumor, this would be too risky as well. The third option, which she felt confident about and we do as well is pursuing radiation and Avastin.  We are close to our 2 year window from the last time we had radiation. This being said, it would be in the clearance to do it again. We will do radiation ( 3-4) weeks and also do Avastin which is done with an IV. We don't exactly know the details yet, as we are waiting to clear and set it up with our oncologist in Waco. The other blessing about all of this, we can do it in Waco. We hope that this can all get set up in the next few days and we can begin treatment.

I am so grateful for all those that have joined in on the prayer list and been wishing to support in any way.  The only symptoms I experience at this point is left sided headaches which go away with a tylenol or two. I have been put on steroids to help with this too. Which according to Dana does cause some personality changes. The only other problem, less severe, depending who you are, is forgetting names. So don't fault me there... I am trying.

Continue to pray for strength and guidance as we continue on......


David & Dana
Audrey & Parker

MRI RESULTS

So amazing to have so many people, email, call and text the past few hours. Words of encouragement, scripture, bold prayer and just a simple thinking of you! Thank you. David had his MRI today and it appears that the tumor has doubled in size. Two times the size it was and even bigger then the first one two years ago. When David sent me a picture of the MRI, I was shocked that something that massive and huge has taken over David's brain and he is still functioning... I patiently put the kids to bed and waited anxiously for David to get home tonight so we could just spend time talking and praying on what all this means.

David and I both continue to be very open and straightforward on what this all looks like for our family. We talked about what does Healing really mean? Many have asked if they can pray for healing for David? It has caused some open conversation on what does healing mean in a persons life? The simple answer would mean..no brain cancer. But, when we look back at David's past two years, we don't see the life of someone with Cancer. We have traveled as a family more then we have in 10 years of marriage, we have created some AMAZING moments and memories with our kids, our marriage is stronger then it was even the day we were married, David is spiritually healed and stronger in his faith, he was able to helicopter ski twice this past two years, go to Chili, get a motor bike, learn to motor bike ( helpful) , we have strengthened relationships in our family, we have strengthened friendships, we have created many new friendships, become involved in our church, he even won a hula hoop contest on chemo...the list can go on. Because of Brain Cancer we have lived a life better then someone with out Cancer. To us we feel God has miraculously healed us from the tragedy and walk of Cancer. He has given David the strength he needed to go to Chili. To spend a week at family camp right after.  We want to continue thanking God for each day, to enjoy and appreciate every moment of it. And remembering the miracles GOD has already done in our lives already. A-Mazing! 

So what is our prayer? Our prayer is for God to continue to do the impossible. To allow David to " triumph" living out glorifying God, appreciating every day, creating family memories and shield him from the road of sickness, dehabilitation. Help us to shield our children from the weaknesses Cancer can cause but for them to instead learn from the strength God can provide.

Luke 1:37 " For nothing will be impossible with God" 

All the verses you sent today went right to our heart. We look forward to the next step whatever that may be when we go to MD Anderson on Monday......... We are blessed because tonight we go to sleep with some peace. With love, The Hurst Family

" The LORD gives his people strength. The LORD blesses them with Peace. " Psalm 29:11

MRI Day

Good morning! We hope this email finds each of you well! It has been awhile since we have written. The past 4 weeks have been amazing but crazy. Keeping busy we have found can be the best therapy for our family. On July 8th we were filled with so much gratitude and joy when 15 of our friends from Waco threw together a party of celebration for David. With 175 people showing up, we saw nothing but Green Team Hurst shirts, bracelets and koozies! We had some surprise visits from some of David's closest friends in Houston and family as well. This night gave us the opportunity to thank so many people in Waco that have stood by supporting us in bold prayer as we faced this journey the past two years. Showing people how grateful we are is something I always worry about. I want everyone to know, that we see and hear God so loud through each of you. Through you he gives us the wisdom, the strength and joy to battle through this journey. And we are forever grateful. Here are some pictures from the event. 

David's parents:)

Thank you to our amazing hostesses ( not pictured EVEY ELLIS AND DEANNA STARLING) for making this an amazing evening for us!

After we had the joys of the party, with the help of a gracious friend, David got to spend a week in Chili! He had never been to a country like this and experience anything like it. He had an awesome time and got to enjoy the mountains of Chili ( winter there). Thankful to God for providing him with an abundant amount of energy and no headaches so he could have a trip of a life time!

But, wait it doesn't stop there! We picked David up from the Dallas airport and went straight to Pine Cove Family Camp after that! A-mazing experience! It did take me a few days to get used to sleeping in a cabin and some of the critters that thought our cabin was more enjoyable then outside! But, we learned so much as a family and met so many amazing people and friends! David and I had the awesome opportunity with others at the camp to listen to Ben Stewart, the Breakaway Minister at A&M. God reveled so much to us throughout the week on how to really just put our faith in him and spread that to your home. How important it is for Audrey and Parker to see us walk our daily journey and see how amazing God is through it. We also had the chance to zip line, banana boat ride and mountain bike. The last day of camp David experienced his first headache in a long time. It was the first time we were late to breakfast. It actually turned out to be perfect timing as we walked in to a room filled with parents, kids, counselors all wearing David's Team Hurst Shirts and Bracelets. They stood up and clapped and I can say I felt so much love and support in that room with people we just met. David right away thought I had something to do with this amazing surprise. But, this was one of the few times I was just as surprised as he. We felt so loved to find out wonderful friends Glenn and Rhonda Robinson coordinated the whole thing from Waco, Texas. God is good and very alive and carrying us every step and it showed in that room. When we sat down, sweet Audrey whispered in my ear. Mommy how do they all know Daddy has Cancer? It was that opportunity I could use what we learned and explained to her that it was OK others knew, that we as a community can come together and pray for Daddy and all these people want to do this with us. Here is a picture of al the parents after in their shirts!

Audrey and her camp buddies

One of the campers supporting Team Hurst

Happy Camper

So, were does this all leave us now???? We have had so much fun having family time. We have dug deeper into our faith through all of this! We have grown even more in our faith and our love as a family! We continue to be and feel great strength through all of you that God uses in our lives! We are home! And now....it is back to reality:( Today, saturday...at 4:45 David will have his first MRI after being on the trial for 4 weeks. His symptoms as always this past four weeks have been minimal. Which I wish that meant something...but the one thing I do know is that it allows us to walk through this journey easier and I thank God for that. But, the tumor is still there. Or at least we think. Today we will find out if it has grown, shrunk, stood still who knows. Depending on what it has done we will go to MD Anderson for our appointment monday morning. Dr. Prada will either continue us on trial or look at other treatment options.

We will update the blog and let everyone know. We again thank you for your encouragement for your prayers, for your love and for the joy you provide in our lives. Everyone has asked us for specific prayer...I ask that you take time today. To spend time asking the holy spirit to lead you in what to pray for. I can give you a million things, but ask that you have that time and feel that peace and comfort in prayer in prayer for our family.

We taught this verse to our kids this week and hope we can continue to do it in our lives through our journey....

" Whatever you do , do all for the glory of God " 1 Corinthians 10:31 

Love, the Hurst Family

Beyond Happy

" Whether you turn to the right or the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, " This is the way; walk in it,." Isaiah 30"21


This verse has meant so much to us in the past 72 hours. We asked you to pray for clarity. We were hoping to start a trial this past friday and we encountered a huge roadblock. Having some time to settle we realized that things couldn't get more clear then on Monday.  We anxiously awaited all weekend knowing that we needed to start some sort of treatment on Monday , but which one? What that treatment was, was in the hands of the insurance company. If they said yes, we would start the trial. If they said, no we would begin a path of Avastin and Lomustine. Duke confirmed both paths would be their route and that they believe we are in great hands at MD Anderson and taking all the appropriate steps. Duke doctors also stood by us and encouraged us to use any resources they had to fight insurance. We prayed and hoped it would not come to that. 

It's a Sunday evening, we are finally home and we just received a phone call from Scott and White ( again on a Sunday evening:)) that THEY WILL APPROVE the trial. We are beyond excited. We are anxious to try this trial. We are jumping up in down that we got a yes ! ( how sad if you think about it, this is our insurance company:())We are thankful to Glenn Robinson and Jim Smith with Hillcrest Hospital and Keith Stone and Bob Greenberg with Scott and White Hospital and many more, all who wrote letters and made phone calls the last 24 hours on our behalf. I hate that it even had to come to that. And really it shouldn't have. The problem we experienced and have experienced two years ago was with our insurance company Scott and White Health Plan. The lady on the phone this evening, was very apologetic for the wait and for us having to deal with this. I appreciate her sincerity and her efforts to make it right. I can't imagine her job and having to tell people no when their lives are on the line. But, tonight she made two people very happy. And I am pretty sure she was happy to have David's name checked off her list:) 

David will drive to Houston tomorrow to receive the medication for the trial and then home. We will do an MRI in four weeks to see if there are any changes. If the tumor has grown more, then we will stop the trial and pull our wild card of Avastin and Lomustine. Some may be asking why we just don't do Avastin now? There are many reasons Avastin can be both good and bad. With out me getting into details, David and I feel this will be our next and most reasonable step if the trial does not work. 

What we do know this evening, is that this is the way we are suppose to go tomorrow. That is about as far as we can think now.  We have researched so many other trials, including this one, that our minds are physicially exhausted. We are at the point were we continue to put all faith and trust in God as our ultimate healer and to continue to guide us with shall I say EXTREME clarity so we know we are walking the steps he wants us to take. 

As you pray for David please continue to pray for sweet Audrey. I will be staying in Waco tomorrow with her as the trips to Houston have worn on her and in a tearful rage she asked that we not go. With all the traveling and most of them starting in Houston for a doctors appointment or ending there, we thought tomorrow best that David go and I stay back with Audrey. So prayers for safe travels for David and for a peaceful heart for Audrey.

Thursday night I read one of the bible stories to Audrey and Parker in their bible book. It was about Joshua. A simplified version. Joshua had a small army and didn't know how he was going to fight the big armies. With prayer and God on his side they started to fight and kill off the larger arms and then the sun started to set. Joshua knew they could not finish the fight into darkness, so with his faith and hope in God he said, " STAND STILL SUN " and with that the Sun stood still and he finished the fight with his small army and God on his side. The title of the story, MIRACLES. All weekend and the next few weeks in my head I , with the same boldness and heart,  hope to have that same strong faith as Joshua and say...STAND STILL TUMOR! STAND STILL! Pray that prayer with me these next four weeks and boldness in your prayer and lets pray for this medication to halt that tumor and David to continue to have minimum side effects and create and live life with God's will in his heart. 

With love,

Dana 

No Trial

What a day. Words cannot express the mix of emotions we have experienced. We walked in to MD Anderson today, ready to begin this trial. Ready to start treatment and then to go home. Little did we know we would have a major roadblock in front of us. The past 3 weeks MD Anderson has been going to battle with our insurance . This clinical trial is with FDA approved drugs and the drugs are already paid for by a pharmaceutical company. But, to be in trial you need approval from insurance for standard MRIs , blood work etc. You also need approval if you were to encounter any hospital stays during this trial. We have been denied, denied , denied. They do not want to cover any sort of trial. This is very frustrating considering we have done two years of the standard treatment ( which we also had to fight to get covered) and David is a physician for Scott and White Health program and can not get coverage with their health care system. I am so thankful to Glenn Robinson, Jim Morrison, Robert Greenberg and Dr Keith Stone who have spent the last several hours trying to get a yes for us. The lady we need to say yes ( who has said no) was in a meeting till 5 today and unreachable. Hearing David on the phone with her assistant , was so disappointing. Her saying refusal because of potential complications from trial and David basically saying, I have brain cancer, trial or not I will have hospital stays. This is not something we have asked for in our lives , which sometimes fighting insurance you want to say to them.

We now leave with no medication , but with hopes on starting something Monday. If we can not begin trial we will pursue the other option of Avastin and Lilustim (sp?). This is a promising option and also received phone call from Duke today. They said to fight insurance and get in trial ( they even offered to contact 60 min) and that we are in good hands at MD Anderson. That the trial is a good option because David does not have significant side effects currently . When we do experience those then Avastin with a complimentary drug is promising.

So now we wait till Monday. I believe with all my heart God is trying to give that clarity that we are asking for. When it comes Monday, we have two promising options , both confirmed by duke and Md Anderson. the one we take depends on if we have insurance approval or not. Insurance will cover the Avastin route. I think we will have our clarity.


I am very disappointed in what we went through this afternoon and hope we can be a voice to others that may have to deal with this side of insurance. I am not done fighting or having a voice for this cause.

Who knows, maybe you will see me on 60 min one day:)

Trial tomorrow

David and his dad Ben. They decided to take a ride in Ben's Hotrod ( sp?) tonight in Houston

Our trip to Destin this past week. David and the guys got a chance to go fishing! Kids were anxious to greet them at the boat and see all that they caught!

I wanted to give a quick update as there are specific prayers we are seeking. I am so thankful to a group of friends who have rallied together this next 24 hours to pray for our family as we take this next step and begin our trail at MD Anderson tomorrow. I know all of you are praying for our family also and can tell you, the constant peace we feel is because of your prayers.

Our family decided after the news last week of more growth in tumor, that we would make a last minute decision to head to Destin, Florida with friends. We are so thankful for our friends the Yochams who knew this family just doesn't do good sitting around town and waiting. We were lucky for them to invite us to their family gathering in Destin and we were quick to say yes and get in the car again for another long drive. I think our children have forgotten we have a house, and think our new home is Florida every month. Thank goodness for summer and David's good health that we can get in the car and create more memories and spend time together as a family. It was a wonderful few days.

As we mentioned in the blog two weeks ago, we have a very good friend who connected us with one of the head doctors at Duke University Neuro/Spin Center, Dr. Henry Friedman. This doctor has been communicating with us with personal calls and been insistent on receiving our paper work and giving us a second opinion. We are very thankful for MD Anderson and love our care. We believe that this is the path we are to take starting the trial tomorrow in Houston. But, we also know the path that these trials can take. We want to be assured we have a back up plan.

The crazy thing about this though, is that with in one week from hearing from Dr. Friedman, we received a phone call from my mom who has a family friend who basically cornered a renown cardiologist at the James Cancer Institute fundraiser last friday, ( her name is Susie and she definitley knows how to get things done:)) She shared our story ( and a picture or two) and he was so amazing he gave her the personal cell phone of his friend a neuro/oncologist , Dr. Sampson at Duke University. Being married to a Physician, I can tell you, you normally don't just give your personal cell phones. With a few text messages to Dr. Sampson, Susie set us up to talk to Dr. Sampson via text. I texted him that we were currently working with one of his colleagues and that our paper work was being sent. Within 24 hours of this text  ( this past Sunday) we had two of the most known doctors in the country emailing us and calling us to get our MRI's so that they could give us their medical opinion. What does all this mean? I have no idea? It makes me more confused then ever!  We are waiting for tomorrow, where they will email us together what Duke can do for us and what trials they have. A lot depends on the mutation of David's tumor. For so long, I have felt so sure on our path. And lately I feel so not sure! Wondering where does God want us to go! What does he want us to do. I have said this before. I am not the best test taker. I am the one that puts A but then B and C sound so much better! Your prayers mean the world to us right now!  WE ask you to pray for clear direction. We felt clear direction when their was an opening for this trial that begins tomorrow. But, then we ask ourselves, what are the chances that we have two people ( that don't know each other) connect us with two prominent Duke Doctors? Slim. Tomorrow we will start and the trial is simple. We show up. Get our medicine, do some blood work and come back in 4 weeks. With MRI's in between to see if it is working.

Our conclusion now, is to take the clear direction of starting the trial tomorrow. And to continue to pray for God's direction if this trial does not work. Maybe our next option is Duke.  David still continues to have no symptoms. He did lots of fishing while on vacation and even won a hula hoop contest one evening on the Pirate ship boat adventure we attended with our kids. Don't let him brag too much about it either. And we have lots of pictures as bribery:)

We decided with the Yochams to take the children on a Pirate Ship adventure. It all seemed very cool to the older children but not so much to our 3 year old who was a little freaked out about the whole thing. About an hour into the Pirate Ship boat ride I took Parker to the top of the deck to just watch the water. It was only a few minutes after that, I heard one of the Pirates on their microphone yell, " Oh *&*^* " I looked down thinking oh my goodness, I cannot believe this pirate yelled this with all these kids all over! And I saw a swarm of people all in a frantic. And saw them all around David. Saying I freaked out is an understatement. I ran as fast as I could with Parker. Tears beginning. So worried. Did David have a seizure? Why are all these people surrounding him? Where is Audrey? Did she see?Only to find David kneeling down next to a lady telling her she was going to be OK he was a physician. He was there to take care of her. I think my face regained color at that point. And was reminded of David's amazing purpose on this earth. He got everyone calmed and got the lady taken care of. In my heart all I could think, little did this lady know or the 100 people sititng around that this man is batteling his own health right now, with a yucky deadly disease called Cancer, but you would never know, because he just won the hula hoop contest:) He is running around with his kids:) He has a full head of hair:) And he is the physician that was there to let that girl know...its all going to be OK.

Thanking God every moment for the wonderful adventures our family has had these past few months. And the amazing family and friends that continue to share our faith with us and hold us up in prayer.


Love, The Hurst Family

MRI - Waiting Game - Clinical Trial

Good evening everyone,

We just got back from our wonderful trip to Nebraska to see Aunt Mimi (Dana's sister Megan) and her  husband Brian.  We had a great car ride trip, stopping to see friends along the way, ie the Korpas' in Lincoln.  We saw lots of old friends in North Platte and visited some very familiar local spots.  We had a great trip.  We even had a surprise visit from Dana's dad, Dane, who flew to Omaha and drove out to see all of us.  Thanks Dane.  We also took advantage of being around for all the rodeo festivities of Nebraska Land Days, including the parade.

The past few days of getting back to home in Waco have been busy, firing off emails and faxes to various clinical trials we have been researching.  Many are thanks to your suggestion and research.  We are always keeping our eyes and ears open to what is out there. Sadly, all we are currently finding are trials. We are reminded that these are trials and not the cure, but have hopes that one day there will be a cure for Brain Cancer. We are so very thankful we have such a great prayer chain of warriors like all of you.  You are constantly encouraging us and it means a lot to our family. There are many days that you have no idea how much that encouragement means. We are all very excited about this next step in the process and look forward to the tumor responding appropriately.  Dana and I have been very faithful to our prayers regarding ourselves and all of you.

Today, I went to the hospital to obtain all my tests, 2 weeks prior to initiating therapy; labs, EKG, and MRI and will send them off to MD Anderson this week as well as carry them with me to my visit.  It will be 4 weeks since last Temodar on Friday June 28th and that will be the day we start the two new chemo pills, Everolimus and Sonafenib.  Both meds work to stop the process of replicating the tumor DNA, the tumor's process of growth.  We have very high hopes for this trial. The hardest part of all of this is the waiting.

The MRI today did indeed show a 30% increase in size in just the last two weeks but no new bad consequences yet.  I will stay on my Keppra, the anti seizure medication, as they are most concerned about this tumor causing some irritation and could cause a seizure. I was not to surprised, as that is what these tumors do. But, still did not enjoy seeing the report again and the little bit of aggression in the tumor.

We hope you warriors will continue to pray for good results as we will too. There is a lot coming in this journey and we appreciate the love you provide not to just Dana and I, but our children. We decided this week it would be best to get Audrey involved in play therapy. She is a smart little 5 year old and becoming more aware of what is going on. We are excited for this play therapy to be a place of comfort for Audrey and to open the communication dialog about Cancer with her. 

Please continue to send good well wishes and any clinical trials you have found and we will expend our full resources to review and research them all.  We continue to be positive in the one thing that is true and that is that God will carry us through this. He has walked this path before us and he is our strength in some of our weakest days. Thanks for all that each and everyone does for us, we truly appreciate each one of you.

Thanks so very much

Dana and David

Audrey and Parker

Friday, June 7 2013 Third Times A Charm

What a crazy past 48 hours... I have had many moments when I stopped and just reflected on what this all means? Three times? Three times we have seen this tumor, two times we have gotten rid of it.... and now we approach it the third time. I am reminded of all the miraculous things God has already done in our life! With the exception of surgery... we have lived with minimal side effects this past year and half.  Most would look at David and not even know he has Cancer. Sometimes I feel this is all just a dream because our life is so normal...and then we get these scans that remind us...it's not quite done yet. Today we went to MD Anderson with a lot of hope. We are all blessed with the knowledge and expertise of the researchers out there...who work day in and day out looking for a cure for not only Brain Cancer, but all the other Cancers. We are also blessed by all of you who have been spending time researching trials for us and looking for the best route in battling this tumor... we so appreciate and value your time and effort you spend helping us and being an advocate for our family. I have learned through this, we have some pretty smart friends:))))) I will let David explain more the route we have decided to go. But, first I wanted to share how the past 48 hours I have asked for a clear route for us to take. I have asked God..what are we missing? He has given us three times ( feel pretty lucky) to fight this...and I just want to know which route it is he wants us to take. And that is the prayer I ask from all of you. That we would continue to be guided on what is the BEST direction for our family. We want to make sure we get it this time. Today, I felt that clarification when the doctor sat with us and talked to us about the trials out there and the advantages and disadvantages of all. When she came to the trial that she believes is best for our family we were all ears. I will let David explain more, but when the researcher came in later and told us how lucky we were that today there was a spot open ( the last spot before the trial closes)  and we luckily met all requirements...I knew God molded that spot just for us today and this is the route we should take.....

Dana

So many things to be excited about and then so many things that could get you down if you let them. Dana and I would like to thank all our prayer warriors for all the prayers the last 48hrs.  We had a very encouraging visit with Dr Peñas-Prado here @ MD Anderson and have committed to a Clinical Trial at MD Anderson. She was very well prepared for our visit and even did some research as to which of the current trials were open.  She had three trials open that I was eligible for and recommended them 1-3.  She was most comfortable with the trial with the medications Everolimus and Sorafenib, both are currently FDA approved for use for kidney cancer patients and each work by blocking a pathway in the DNA replication pathway.  This is a multicenter trial with 118 total patients with 30 at MD Anderson, of which the research nurse said I filled the last spot.  Before I can start the new chemo, I have to wait 3 weeks to get the last Temodar chemo out of my system (of which I last took 1week ago). The side effects from these drugs are minimal and are FDA approved which is always good. We are thankful for our friends who have worked in research for GBM tumors and have provided and guided us with feedback on the many trials out there. We will begin this trial on June 27th, but will also keep our eyes and ears open to any new trials or developments out there. There are many and will continue research. The other amazing and blessing to this trial, there is no cost to us. We are beyond thankful for this too, but did not weigh our decision. We want to do what we feel guided to do and has the most successful results for tumors in the Brain.
Again, we trust in The Lord and accept the challenges He puts in front of us. We ask for prayers while we wait 3 weeks that I will endure know symptoms or growth. We want to thank all our prayer warriors both near and far for all the prayers and good wishes. Know that they are being heard.  We are confident in the path that The Lord is taking us down as we represent his will.

We will pray for good results.

Thanks

David, Dana,  Audrey & Parker

June 6th, Next Chapter

Good morning,

It has been about 3 months since surgery and I have recovered well and luckily still have no symptoms.

Dana and I pray everyday for continued good news and truly treasure all the days I get to spend with all of my wonderful family and friends.  It has been a busy spring 2013 as we have had several great trips. In April, we drove to Chicago to see both Dana and my great friends and help one of my best friend's daughter (Melissa) celebrate her Bat Mizvah.  Then a few great ski buddies and I had a great 3 day weekend skiing trip at Arapahoe Basin in May!!!  Then, Dana, the kids and I also took time to drive to Florida to see her cousin Katie and husband Eric then onward to the beach then over to see Grandpa Bill in Ocala and then to DisneyWorld.  Great Trips!!!  All the while, trying not to think about the big C.

Well, Friday is my next scheduled appointment at MD Anderson and I had an MRI today, second one post-op and unfortunately it shows a new spot.  It is about the size of the last one but a little less friendly.  It looks mad.  I have talked to a few friends and my plan is to call and discuss with MD Anderson that my MRI is abnormal and want to discuss a variety of options.  Especially the options of getting enrolled in some sort of trial or research protocol.  There are several available and as I said last month, they require active tumor and now I have what I least wanted.

So, we will accept this new challenge and attack it head on with strong support from God and all of our prayer warriors.  I am excited to rise to this new challenge as I feel we all have in the past.  Dana and I appreciate all the prayers you all have given us over the past few years and only hope to return your love by our faith in the Lord as our savior.  Please Pray with us as we continue the next chapter in our journey.

With all our Love
David, Dana, Audrey and Parker

First 21day Round of Temodar Finished

In Chicago spending time with long time friend since under grad Alex

Family enjoying the city of Chicago

All is going smoothly here in Waco and we are all well, including me:) I am five weeks post surgery. As you may know, the treatment plan is for a 21 day course of Temodar (chemo pill) and tonight is the first night without it.  I am relieved, even though the meds don't bother me it is still nice to be off of them.  I will take 7 days off before I continue the next round of 21 days. We pray hard in our family and it can be tough at times.  Having this stress once a few years ago is hard but twice just seems more difficult.  We are strong in our faith of God as our healer and we have such a huge following of prayer warriors.  We see the strength and power of your prayer every day.

I have been talking with very good friends, smart doctors and doctor friends.  We have really been looking outside the box for some alternative treatment options and research protocols and some are very promising.  Dana and I recently drove down to Houston to meet with a Family practice doctor that had been practicing Alternative Medicine techniques for the past 12-15 years.  He too was a very smart gentleman and certainly passionate about his practice.  He has had many success stories.  Unfortunately, his approach to my treatment plan did not feel right for me. I am going to an acupuncturist tomorrow for the first time and hopefully soon a massage therapist whom I have higher hopes.  At least I hope to feel more relaxed afterward.

A few research trials at MD Anderson look very good with promising results however the patient must have active tumor to be enrolled, not post surgical like me.  So, I am scheduled for a MRI in 4 days and will review the scan for new tumor.  You can imagine the stress of praying for no tumor knowing that without it we do not qualify for most research trials.

I want to let all of you know we are not desperate just seeking parallel therapies to be more comprehensive.  I have read several studies that imply most of the healing can come from within with the right stimulus, either internal or external and I do believe this. We thank everyone for all their well wishes and prayers and want you to know how much we appreciate them all.  Everyday we feel loved by one more individual and family and hope to spread this on to others in our lives. We are spending as much time together with family and friends and wish we could get together with everyone.  

Isaiah 41:10  So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 

Thank you everyone

David & Dana

Audrey & Parker

1st Post-op Dr Visit

Good Morning Everyone,
I want to thank everyone for all the prayers, calls and cards you have sent to us during this repeat visit down this trail.  We truly appreciate all the support and love you send and we will continue to glorify God through your prayers.

The second surgery was indeed a little more difficult and recovery is a bit more challenging but luckily we are young and strong and fighting this curve in our life path is not anymore difficult than many of the challenges in all our lives.

Yesterday, Dana and I had our first post-op oncology visit at MD Anderson with Dr Penas-Prada. Dr Prada had some unfortunate news that the histo-pathology results revealed the tumor was a Grade 4 Glioblastoma Multiforme.  Basically, the next grade up.  We talked about our treatment options and she wants to change the chemo regimen from 5 days to 21days but at 1/3 the dosage.  Luckily, I have very few side-effects from the Temodar (chemo) and so that is not as big a challenge as it could be. 

We were disappointed to hear that the tumor have changed but not daunted by the task ahead.  Through your support and prayers and my love of God and Family, I/we are up for the challenge.  We have been down this road before and recognize the challenges before us.  I am very blessed to have such a supportive wife, family and friends that we can all rise up to the challenge and fight this together.  I thank you all for your never-ending support through this journey and all your wonderful prayers.

With all our love
David and Dana
Audrey and Parker

Path and Treatment Plan

We hope all is well with everyone! These are a couple pictures taken during Easter! We enjoyed going to our neighbor and friends for a nice Easter brunch and more chocolate and Easter egg hunting. Today will be two weeks from David's surgery. As you can see he looks great! We are sorry for the delay in posting. It has been nice being home and surrounded by all of your calls, visits and cards. We still have not had any word on pathology. We also have not called to ask:) We had our appointment scheduled with our oncologist at MD Anderson on April 19th. We were concerned at the date and how far away it was. God was a few steps ahead of us when we received an out of the blue phone call from our Oncologists nurse asking us if we could come in this week...as they want to get started on a treatment plan asap. I asked her if she knew the path results?  Why there was such a rush? She said she did not, but that usually treatment begins 2 weeks after surgery. So, we will pack up and head down to Houston on Thursday and start the plan of action based on pathology results. Once again we ask for bold prayers on what treatment is moving forward. We are very positive and have an optimistic outlook on everything. Just know this is part of the path we are to take.


David has been doing good the past two weeks. The surgery this time is definitely harder on him, but he is still doing better then I know I would:) He has been getting bits of energy in the day to hang with friends or family and then gets worn out pretty easily and is home resting shortly after. Today was the first day he was able to drive again...and I put him right to work with Carpool for kids:) The kids were beyond excited! We are worried about the kids friends that come over. As every time, Audrey and Parker want to show off Daddy's incision. Yesterday, I heard Audrey tell her friend... " now we have to let my daddy rest so he can get better. Did you know a doctor took a big knife to his head and took out his boo boo and then sewed it all up so that is why he has the incision?" wow ! A lot to take for a 5 year old! And their poor friends just sit with wide eyes. But, we have consulted with many counselors who say being open is best and good for Audrey and Parker to communicate! Sometimes I don't think we give children enough credit on what they can actually handle:)


We want to be able to update everyone and are so gracious for all checking in on us! THANK YOU over and over again! We would ask that you sign up to follow the blog and if forwarding ask others too. The more prayers we can have the better. And I can honestly say I believe your prayers really have given us SUCH comfort and times that I didn't think it was possible. We have thought about switching to a caring bridge blog, but we have so much history with this page and don't want to loose that. It takes a few minutes to follow the blog, but would be so helpful in spreading the updates. You can sign up to follow by email or join the site! If you are receiving this on your phone, you will just have to go to the full web version page or on your computer. But, easy to do on your phone, just have to navigate to the page. I will still try to send via email with the attachment ( helpful for my father). But, just know that we appreciate you spreading our story. It helps us to communicate through the blog because it becomes so hard to update all of you special people individually! Know that we do read every email and card and try to respond to all!

Be praying for us Thursday! And we thank God for his presence through each of you!

The Hurst Family!

Home

We are home from the hospital! Not only are we home, but we are back in Waco. To me amazing. I explained to Audrey tonight at bedtime that her daddy has been playing the part of super man. Just like Superman, daddy needs to rest:) To be strong like Superman, we need to gain our strength through lots of rest and sleep:) The kids were super excited to see him, but did not quite understand at bedtime why Daddy wasn't doing the bedtime ritual and running all around with them. It amazed me because right away when Audrey looked at David's incision she said why so many stitches? I don't ever remember talking to her about stitches? Or even using that word. I think David appreciated her medical terminology:) The kids were well taken care of by my mother and we are so grateful that we could focus on healing while she took care of the kiddos:) 

Before we got discharged this a.m. I went to the break room ( think that would be the appropriate word) on the 8th floor. This is the floor David stayed on and the floor where all Nero and spine cancer surgery patients recuperate. I sipped on some coffee and made some phone calls while enjoying some sunlight from the window. I was the only one in in the room until a nice lady walked in about 10 minutes after my time of solitude. She asked me if I had kids and I told her a little bit about Audrey and Parker. I then asked why she was at MD Anderson and on the 8th floor. She said her 40 year old daughter has a rare spinal cancer. One that only 50 people in the WORLD have ever been diagnosed with! That there is a doctor at MD Anderson that has done all these surgeries and the only one that works with this rare cancer. She told me 2 months ago her daughter had a 28 HOUR SURGERY! Can you imagine!? I thought waiting for David 8 hours was long, but 28 HOURS! She said that several doctors would come in at certain times to remove the main doctor so he could take a break, sit, eat, potty you name it. Her daughter has been on the 8th floor for 2 months now. To make it even more crazy, the doctors took some muscle from the daughters stomach and used it as a filler around her spin to prevent this cancer from growing back? Craziness! Marilyn was the mother's name and Kara is her daughter. Kara has a 12 year old son. They all live in Alaska and since Kara has been in the hospital for 2 months recovering ( just took her first steps) they have been rotating flying out to see her and take care of her. 

All this being said, I hugged Marilyn. I told her that I would share her story with all my prayer warriors. That we would pray her daughters name and pray for Marilyn as the mother and care taker. I walked out and felt my heart saying, and you thought you had it bad? I was reminded at that instant that yes no journey is comparable and each one is different based on how God wants to use it to bring beauty and glory to his name, but when we think we are the ones suffering the most there is always someone else out there with a story worst then yours. I was touched by Kara's story as I sat there thinking.....I could never go through that. Cancer? Oh my goodness. Then I walked out...saw the sign on the floor and was reminded, oh wait...we are going through that.

Once back in Waco, we went to Audrey's t-ball practice. Her first practice! David was to be the coach, but with all that has been going on, our wonderful friends stepped up. David insisted on going to the practice. I was a little hesitant, as David has no bandage on. He has an incision all around his head, hair matted down and every part of the incision would be visible to all ( yes that means blood).  Not to mention, doctor ordered no shower until tomorrow. I want to say he looked awesome, but he more so looked like he just escaped the hospital. We got to her practice. He sat down. The kids were so excited to see him. Our close friends were all so amazing...just acting like it was another day. And once again, David proved to be the stronger one, not me. He continues to not let this manage his life, control his life or dictate the simplest joys such as seeing his daughters first t-ball practice. I believe and know with all my heart that this bump is to awake us to more of life and joy and David will continue to battle but he will experience and feel joy for many many years to come!

I want to thank you all for the notes, text messages, calls you name it. We try so hard to respond to all, but sometimes we just can't. I also see that the messages many send to David provide a lot of encouragement and hope for him. He is resting a lot so his response time might be delayed as well. Please know, we do read them. They do provide comfort. We are SO EXCITED to be back home! And to be back to life! 

Eventually, we will stop sending out the blog personally, so please sign up to receive updates via email or to follow blog. If you have questions how to do it, please let us know!

Lots of Love!

Dana and David 

Results for now....

Less then 12 hours after surgery and he is dressed and ready to head down to cafeteria. He is convinced he will beat his record time of discharge after his second brain surgery. Crazy! But amazing. David did amazing during surgery yesterday. Talking right after :) In great spirits as always.

When the doctor came in at the end of surgery yesterday to talk to us before David woke up, we received some news that blew us away. This past 6 weeks have been wonderful with the hope that this spot was radiation necrosis, a cause from radiation. But, when the doctor came in yesterday , we got that little reminder again that this is Brain Cancer and it is still very a part of our lives. The spot that we believed and you all prayed so boldly for in fact is a tumor. In just the last 6 weeks it had grown slightly. I think I went numb at this point, but with David's family , friends and my close friends Breck and Amanda they were able to retain all the information for me that we would later discuss with David and the doctor. 

We had a great talk this am with the doctor. Where the tumor recurred was in same area, frontal lobe. The doctor was able to not ice cream scoop it out but was aggressive and removed it to the studs . Amen. I only wish I could show the picture of the scan. Pretty amazing! David's taking the news well. We didn't expect reoccurrence this soon. But, continue to have hope we're done for a long time. Pathology will take a few days to come back but we are still praying this did not come back grade 4 glioma but a grade 3. 

I want to thank everyone for praying and ask you to not be discouraged or stop your prayers. This is not over. Faith is not only when good things happen. Faith is becoming completely dependent on God. Trust me , this sucks. And I want all to know we are normal. We are very positive individuals but we are normal. And we have bad days.  And I know in the last 12 hours I have felt so many emotions. But, I was also reminded that Jesus felt every human emotion we feel when he was on this earth. That I need to allow myself to feel those emotions. And that there was a time when even Jesus didn't feel like praying. I am not angry nor is David. We simply have just been reminded that God is in complete control. That we need to continue to seek him for the strength we so desperately need. Because of your prayers , I want you all to know we had the best past 6 weeks.  I can't imagine if this past 6 weeks we thought it was a tumor? Because we had hope we lived life. And now we received the news we received and the best part , it's out:) brain cancer is not curable but manageable! So for now, we are back in control of it...NOT CANCER IN CONTROL! What is the next step??? We fight it with new chemo, we live, we pray, we have bad days and good . Praise GOD, with two brain surgerys David has NO COMPLICATIONS, NO MEMORY LOST, NO SPEACH PROBLEMS, NOTHING! TRULY A BLESSING! He is actual sharper then ever:) I think about Dr Roa and what is job entails as a neuro surgeon. He deals with this every day and how it must wear on him. I could tell how hard it was for him to tell us, as we have become so close to him. Pray for his knowledge and expertise to always be advancing and his heart to be protected as he deals with so many cases like ours. David should be able to leave the hospital friday a.m. and will be off a few months for recovery. We ask you to say...this sucks with us, but to also continue to hold the faith we have and to pray for the strength, peace and comfort that we can only recieve from God. We ask for more good days and we ask for prayer that we always hold truth to our faith and dependence on it.

With lots of love! Dana & David

Surgery Update

This post was written by Breck.

David is out of surgery and waking up. He did great and looks good!! We will know the results of the surgery tomorrow.

Surgery Mid-Morning Update

This update is being posted by Breck.
Things are going well so far!  David is in surgery right this now and as far as we know is doing well. 

Dana, David's family and their friend Alex received an update at 8:30AM stating the doctors had just finished the preliminary MRI and were just about to begin the surgery. This is the last update we've received so far.

Updates at MD Anderson are given by the nurses at 8AM, 10AM and 2PM and in order of the suite the patient is in.  David is in the 32nd suite today.  So, needless to say, it takes a bit for them to get around to informing Dana's family once they begin their regular updates.

Dana and David arrived at the hospital at 6:30AM this morning to get prepped for surgery.  David apparently really likes the IV tubing they have at MD Anderson so his doctor gave him a few to take back to use in the ER. :)

The plan this morning was to give David an MRI (while under anethesia) before the surgery, then to operate on him and then give him a final MRI before waking him up.  If the second MRI shows they did not get the results the doctors want, they will continue surgery.  If they get satisfactory results on the MRI, they will finish up and allow him to go to recovery.  David is in the Brain Imaging Suite of the hospital so that the doctors can take MRIs of his brain before surgery and afterwards to confirm they got what they needed.  This is just one of the reasons David and Dana really love MD Anderson.

We are doing well in the hospital waiting room, the same waiting room we were in during David's last surgery.  The mood is lighter this time around, though.  I think everyone is more comfortable during this surgery, having been through this before and believing David's surgery will reveal good things. 

Dana is feeling good, laughing and enjoying time with friends and family.  She has been given tons of great magazines and yummy candy to munch on while she waits.   

This morning, while David went back to surgery, a number of friends of David and Dana gathered to pray for a successful surgery, for no blood clots and for the results to reveal no tumor.  This was very touching to Dana and David to know that while friends could not be present with them first this this morning at the hospital, they were present in spirit and in prayer.  Dana really appreciates their sweet friend, Claire, for putting this together as well as for all those who rose bright and early to be there.

I will try to update in another hour or so, once we get our next update.  But for now, no news is good news! :)

Night before surgery

Good evening family and friends,

Today was a fairly busy but uneventful day filled with several doctor appointments and a few lab tests.  Luckily, no big changes!

We did get to meet with our surgeon, Dr Rao, and he said he expects an uneventful surgery which will begin at 8:30am.  We are scheduled to be in the pre-op area at 6:30am.

We want to thank everybody for all their loving thoughts and prayers for a successful surgery and a good outcome.

Dana will post periodically on the blog throughout the day tomorrow and I will post as soon as possible.

God bless
David & Dana
Audrey & Parker

Surgery Week

Tomorrow we head to Houston in the morning for our round of appointments before surgery on Wednesday. Surgery time will be confirmed tomorrow!  We will make sure to let everyone know the time as soon as we find out!  The past four weeks have gone so fast! We spent last week in Vail with family and friends. It was refreshing to get away and David got to spend time doing one of the many things he is most passionate about....skiing. To make it even more special, Audrey is getting to where she can join Daddy up on the mountain. We had to make a new rule with her, no going through the trees unless Daddy goes first. Parker on the other hand, not so much. He enjoys just making and throwing Snowballs!:) 

Once we got back from Vail we were overwhelmed as we were surrounded by so many friends who made sure to take that extra effort to make this time spent before surgery as joyous as it can be. Two of David's close friends and neighbors Greg and Scotty treated David to a fishing trip down on the coast for a few days. I did not get too much detail , ( can there be in fishing?) but do know David came back with one hard core sun burn and no fish. But, all that mattered was the time spent with friends and enjoying the peace of the coast. I on the other hand welcomed my mom on Saturday and then that evening was beyond excited when 10 close friends put together a relaxing evening of good food, drinks and great conversation. Couldn't have imagined a better Saturday night. To top it off, each friend brought me a bouquet of flowers to freshen our home and great reading materials for the hospital!

WE are grateful for my mom and her time spent from work to take care of our children while we are gone. For David's family and their walk with us every step as we face this week and our friends. Who pretty much have ever detail of our lives planned and taken care of and all of you! All of you , who pray boldly for our family, who care for us. We pray for many blessings for you and pray that God would provide you with all the thanks that we are humanly not possible to give.

S&W insurance Update

Good evening everyone,

I am very excited and happy to update everyone that my surgery should go off without a hitch on March 20!  Yeah!!!

I really want to thank everyone for their loving prayers these past few weeks and for the past few years, it has meant so much to Dana & I and our children.  Without your support and prayers it would be a daunting and overwhelming journey! So, thank you very much.

Back to the update, I have been calling my PCP and S&W Insurance everyday since MD Anderson and Dana & I formulated the plan for surgery on March 20.  Once again I am continually amazed at the complexity of health insurance, and I am a doctor in the system.  But, going back to January of 2012, S&W Insurance changed from a HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) to a PPO (Preferred Provider Organization), which today, I found out I don't need a per-authorization for surgery.  I also found out that MD Anderson hospital system has a working agreement / association with S&W and therefor, after deductible, my max out of pocket expenditure would be $5,000.

So, now we can proceed forward with the plan of surgery and on with life.

I will continue to update everyone as things progress.

We love everyone so much and want you to remember yourselves and family and friends in your prayers as we all live in this world at the grace of God and his son Jesus.

David & Dana
Audrey & Parker