From Bristol to Boise with Faith

  From Doris: I read one of my January 2025 journal entries in which I was counting down the days until we would begin our mission. That was painful to read.

  From Doris: There is no guarantee I will have less pain in the future even though I have finished my infusions. Last summer I had a temporary break from my infusions as my biopsy wound healed. During that break my pain actually intensified.

  From Doris:   I am in a lot of pain today. When asked if my pain will diminish since my infusions are finished, my oncologist shrugged his shoulders and said, “We’ll find out.”

  From Doris: Today I know I need to eat something, but nothing sounds good. Do I risk eating something and have a negative reaction or go hungry and have stomach pain?

  From Doris: I have lost some of my ability to be flexible. If I do not eat and/or rest at consistent times, I have to deal with significant negative consequences. My body takes a while to recover.

  From Doris: My joint and muscle pain have not subsided since my last infusion. 

  From Doris: Today I had to take Tylenol in addition to Celebrex due to what my primary care physician calls break through pain.

 From Doris: I had quite a bit of pain in my shoulders and knees this week.

 From Doris: Tom’s family had to say goodbye to Bear, their family dog, this week.

  From Doris: I can’t take Tylenol for pain anymore because it has negatively affected my liver.

  From Doris: I have been dealing with migraines this week.

From Doris: Pain is my daily companion. 

 From Doris: We received our   mission call on October 29, 2024, one year ago this coming Wednesday.

 From Doris: Pain is a part of every day.

From Doris: Having cancer limits my ability to interact in person with friends and family. 

 From Doris: So far, I am not successful in controlling the gastrointestinal side effects of my 400 mg chemo pill.

From Doris: So many lives have been lost in the last few weeks from violence in public places. My gastrointestinal side effects have intensified significantly with the 400 mg dose.

From Doris: I can’t predict what I will be able to do each day. I simply listen to the cues my body gives me. Some days I spend most of the day resting.

 From Doris: My pain levels have intensified beyond my ability to endure them using Tylenol and/or Ibuprofen. I can only take Ibuprofen if my blood work indicates it is safe to do so. I am taking three drugs to treat my cancer.  One is administered as an infusion. The other two are taken as pills.  All three drugs have muscle, joint and bone pain as side effects. My body aches constantly.

 From Doris: I am unable to do many of the things I would love to do.