Survivor Winner Has Cancer

The day after James “JT” Thomas was revealed as the winner of “Survivor: Cocantins,” news broke that Ethan Zohn, winner of “Survivor: Africa” has cancer.

“This is the ultimate game of Survivor and there’s really only one outcome, and that’s to win,” the 35-year-old told People on Monday. “There’s no other option.”

According to E! Online, night seats and strange itching led the reality-TV star to think he had some sort of skin condition until he was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin’s disease April 30….He began chemotherapy treatments on Friday….”My life flashed before my eyes.”….However, the pair have good reason to be hopeful—survival rates for Hodgkin’s lymphoma are up to 90% percent.

Zohn will lose his signature curly hair within the next few weeks. He’ll take the initiative to buzz it himself before then.

For an update on myself, my hair is coming back in. It looks just like fuzz at this stage and it is darker on my face. I seem to be getting stronger and walking better. The doctors are still urging me not to be in crowds for awhile. I have a meeting June 5 at Stanford and hope to have some more green lights to attend church and even do some speaking. The church board, however, is urging me to get well so I won’t experience some kind of a relapse. They are so patient and kind. We have a great group of people at FBC in Walnut Creek.

Oakland Man Finds New Life through Cancer Battle

Jill Perry of our church saw this article below and made sure I was able to see it. She wrote, “Hi Pastor, I hope everything is going well and that you are feeling stronger every day. I finally was able to get that story for you about the Oakland man who had Stage 4 lymphoma….Quite an inspiring story. Of course, I think you and Koyce have quite an inspiring story also. You both amaze me with how you have handled all that you have gone through. We miss you at church and look forward to the day we can see you either sitting in the crowd or preaching from the pulpit. We will be happy with either one.
Take care and hurry back. Love, Jill.” The article is below.

MATT RHODES didn't realize how alive he could be until he overcame a period in his life when it looked as if he might be dying.

Diagnosed with stage-four Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 31 in 2001, Rhodes' cancer rendered him unable to walk because a tumor was pressing against his spinal cord. The Oakland resident learned a year later that his doctor estimated his chances of survival at one in three, and other doctors had calculated it at one in five.

"That was probably the first time it really hit me how close I was to death," said Rhodes. "The tumors had gone outside of my lymph system, so they were basically everywhere. My whole chest and torso was pretty much full of tumors — my spleen, my lungs, my bone marrow — all over the place."

Fast forward to today. Rhodes, 39, is cancer-free. He and his wife, Claire, have become avid triathletes, competing for charity under the banner of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training program.

It's a phenomenal survival story, with a neat love-story subplot. Before he contracted lymphoma, Matt considered himself a reasonably healthy bachelor who ran a little and worked out at the gym to stay in shape. But after surgery to remove the tumor, followed by 12 weeks of chemotherapy and 12 weeks of radiation treatment, he had to learn to walk again. He used a walker at first, then a cane. About a year into his rehabilitation, he went on a ski trip to Colorado, where he met Claire through mutual friends. While the two were swimming, she noticed a large surgical scar on his back. He told her his cancer story and thought he'd killed a budding romance.

"When we got back to the lodge, I made things even worse by showing her a Web site I'd made with pictures and a journal from my rehab," he said. "She basically got to see me near death only a year before. She was flush and had a blank look on her face afterward, and I thought, 'Good job, Matt. Way to screw up this relationship. This isn't going anywhere.' But she stuck with a guy who should have been a 'no' the second you hear stuff like this."

Claire wound up shifting Matt's physical mind-set into overdrive. An avid runner, she convinced him they should try the inaugural Hike For Discovery at the Grand Canyon, where they came in contact with Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which sponsored the event. They were married shortly after in 2004, settled in Oakland, and at Claire's urging entered a triathlon through Team in Training, which has prepared more than 380,000 novice athletes for marathons, triathlons and cycle rides, raising nearly $1 billion for research, education and patient aid since 1988.

"I'd never done anything like this," Matt recalled. "I'd only done one other race in my life, a four-mile road race. I had no real concept of what it would take or how good it would feel. My initial thinking was do something easy, but Claire said, 'No, no, let's challenge ourselves.’”

Since 2006, Matt and Claire have competed in more than 10 triathlons together, raising several thousand dollars toward finding a lymphoma cure. They recently took part in the Avia Wildflower Half-Ironman and are now training for their third Escape From Alcatraz triathlon in June. Even though Claire generally beats Matt, he adores the fast-growing sport.

It still grabs him sometimes that he is able to compete. Rarely does a day go by when he doesn't reflect on what he overcame.

"It's a wonderful irony that I'm out here running and cycling when my diagnosis had me not walking, and possibly worse," he said. "My first three or four triathlons, I'd get choked up during the race because I'd get to that moment where I realized what I'm doing and how lucky I am. I'd look like an idiot on the course because I'd be wheezing, barely able to breathe, because I would get so emotional."

As for Claire's influence on his life, Matt said, "She believes in herself in a great way and me in a way that makes me do things I never thought I could do before."

Claire has made inspiration her life's work. She is director of the San Francisco arm of Girls On The Run, a nonprofit prevention program that helps preteen girls develop self-esteem and healthy lifestyles through running. Matt is a computer software animation and graphics developer who provides inspiration simply by telling his story whenever and wherever he can.

"Team in Training tries to contact people who are going through treatment so they can receive support from our group, but also we use them as honorees as inspiration for the team," he said. "It's give-and-get inspiration. For me, it's a real honor to hear that I inspire people." In truth, they both do.

When Medicine and Faith Collide--What about the Child?

Because we have heard on the news a situation with a 13-year of boy with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, I have been following this story with interest. Today, Seminary President Albert Mohler weighed in on the story. He writes below saying,

“Recent cases involving parents who claim a religious reason to refuse medical treatment for children have cast this issue back into the Public Square -- and right into the headlines.

The cases draw immediate attention for good reason. Each case involves a sick or injured child, and in each case at least one parent refuses to allow needed medical treatments, claiming either a reliance upon divine healing, a resignation to the divine will, a medical practice specific to the religious tradition, or some particular objection to a specific medical treatment (such as a blood transfusion) or to all medical interventions.

Each case involves what appear to be conflicting interests -- the parental right to determine the raising of children and the state's interest in protecting the health and welfare of all citizens, including minors. All of these cases are tortuous in some sense, and some are deeply tragic.

In the case of Daniel Hauser, a 13-year-old Minnesota boy with Hodgkin's lymphoma, the issue is the fact that his mother, Colleen Hauser, has defied legal authorities and is believed to have taken him to Mexico for non-traditional treatments for his cancer. The Hausers believe in medical practices based on Native American traditions. After an emotional appeal from the boy's father, the mother and son returned Memorial Day to Minnesota, where he will now receive treatment directed by pediatric oncologists. There is good reason to hope that the chemotherapy will be successful in the case of this treatable cancer.

In another highly publicized case, Leilani Neumann of Wausau, Wisconsin was convicted last week of second-degree reckless homicide in the death of her 11-year-old daughter, Madeline Kara Neumann. Mrs. Neumann refused to allow medical treatment for her daughter's diabetes, and the girl died. The mother claimed a belief in faith healing as her rationale for refusing medical treatment for her daughter. According to medical authorities who testified at the trial, insulin and fluids would have kept the girl alive. Mrs. Neumann now awaits sentencing.

Another recent case involves a 16-year-old boy in Oregon who died a painful death when his parents refused medical treatment for what started out as a simple urinary tract infection. Citing a belief in faith healing, his parents substituted prayer for medical treatment. According to medical authorities, the boy's death was easily preventable.

As these cases make clear, the headlines draw attention for good reason -- children deserve medical care and parents who refuse medical care in cases such as these have no right to allow their children to die without the care and treatments.

And, amazingly enough, there is a strong moral consensus in this country that children deserve medical care and that the state has the obligation to intervene in such cases. This consensus includes both political liberals and conservatives and includes the vast majority of Americans regardless of religious conviction. Though there are important legal issues at stake, a broad consensus exists on this narrowly-defined question. In cases like those recounted above, there is no outcry against state intervention from Christian conservatives or from secular liberals.

The 1944 U.S. Supreme Court decision Prince v. Massachusetts set parameters that continue today. In that case, the Court acknowledged the rights of parents as fundamental. In an important statement the court expressed this right: "It is cardinal with us that the custody, care and nurture of the child reside first in the parents, whose primary function and freedom include preparation for obligations the state can neither supply nor hinder. Pierce v. Society of Sisters, supra. And it is in recognition of this that these decisions have respected the private realm of family life which the state cannot enter."

But the Court also found that there were issues of the welfare of a child that could draw state authorities into this "private realm." Specifically, "The right to practice religion freely does not include liberty to expose the community or the child to communicable disease or the latter to ill health or death."

As a parent, I respect this point. I cannot imagine denying my child any needed medical treatment or defending the right of others to do the same, whether claiming religious liberty or parental freedom for the care and nurture of the child.

I would defend the duty of the state to intervene in these cases, and I am thankful for the broad consensus that stands behind this duty.

I am not without concerns. Given the power of government and the reach of the state into almost all areas of life, the danger exists that the state could seek to expand this duty into other decisions related to education, discipline, and nurture -- the very issues acknowledged by the Court in Prince v. Massachusetts to "reside first in the parents." Yet, vigilance on those questions is the price that must be paid, lest more children be added to the list of those who die or are endangered by parents who claim a religious right to deny their child urgently needed medical treatment. As adults, parents have the right to refuse medical treatment for themselves. They do not have the right to refuse urgently needed medical treatments for their children.

As a Christian theologian, my concern is also directed to those who oppose medical treatment on what are claimed as biblical grounds. The Bible never commands any refusal of legitimate medical treatment. I am unspeakably thankful for modern medicine, for antibiotics and anesthesia and chemotherapy and dialysis and diagnostics. The list goes on and on. There is no Christian prohibition against legitimate medical treatment. I believe that God heals, that we should pray for healing in Christ's name, and that our lives are in God's hands. I believe that all healing comes ultimately from God, but that He has given us the blessings of medicine for the alleviation of much suffering and the treatment of disease. There is no conflict here.

There are serious issues of medical ethics in the case of some treatments, even as there are excruciating dilemmas that confront physicians, patients, and parents. Those must be acknowledged, but they are not the issues at stake in these cases.

In these cases I advise what the great Reformer Martin Luther advised -- take your medicine and put your trust in God. For parents, this means to give your child the best care that modern medicine can offer, and to entrust your precious child to God and to God alone.”

Look for the rainbows

On Friday, we visited Stanford once again. I had a CAT scan and they took some more blood samples. We met with our oncologist and she suggested that I could back off on some of my meds. The meds were often making me just gag right after I took them. It was like World War III going off in my stomach within seconds. We were checked over and we were given a good prognosis. I will go to Stanford every three months for the next year and twice the following year. Koyce and I were overjoyed with the news on Friday and so we get ready for the next five months of getting stronger, resting and staying healthy. We thank the Lord for our friends, your prayers and your love. We could have never gone through this without them. As Jo said in a previous note, prayers have been answered. By the way, a great song to see is I’m Alive illustrated with fighter jets. If you haven’t seen it, email me or leave a comment below and I will send it to you. Thanks again. We are flying high at the moment and for this we give God the glory. Praise be to Him, the Almighty, our LORD and savior. I trust that you will priase God this week along with us.

"When Life throws you a curve, SWING".

This statement above was developed by Alyssa Knight, age 12. It was picked up by Jo Sherman who said, “I saw this card and thought of you! You are swinging back—and an army of people who love you are praying! That’s how God works. What an encouragement you both are to me.” (I liked this card because the theme of it is similar to the theme of my blog, that is, we want life to be in a straight line but there are curves along the way. Also, this was written when I was not feeling like writing, but I wanted you to see it anyway.

In some ways we are going through this process with you—thank you making it so clear as to what to expect ad you go through the various steps. It makes it much easier to pray appropriately!

I think you must feel so horrible! And I pray, “Please God, take this away soon so David will feel better.” That seems to be all I know how to do! But just be aware that every day you are being prayed—and it is a priority.

I am keeping up with your blog but there isn’t much as to news there right now so I am assuming this is a tough time and it will get better soon! I pray for success for you and the doctors in all that is being done—and expect to hear you are doing well!Every day we will continue to pray for you both—and thank God for what he is doing for you! Much love to you both! Jo & Jack.

Jo, in another note wrote, "I just finished reading your blog. Wow! It is so great that the people who were there for you were able to listen as you related the gospel in such creative ways. I, of course, read your blog from the top down and should have gone down to the last bit that I had read and go back up! Anyway, after reading about the terrible nightmares and other "bad" things that happened as a result of the chemo, etc, it sounds as if you were quite uncomfortable for some time. The sores in the mouth and throat must have been difficult for sure.I hope you are gaining a bit more energy each day because I know it can be very discouraging when one feels they do not have the energy they want to have. It is especially difficult for someone like you who is always so energetic!Sounds like Koyce was a true trooper and the best help meet you could ask for!Have a terrific, wonderful good day, Jo"

A card Koyce received from Neva in Texas said, “Life’s Essentials… and then you open it up it reads, “…a little black dress, and one great friend!” Then she wrote, “Dear Koyce, This card just shouted to me of you! I would love to be with you for a visit. We could just enjoy a “chic day!” I am reading Ann of Green Gables and am feeling and thinking very imaginably. I hope your nursing is going well. I am so thankful that you have so many to help you during this time out. I am even looking to Hawaii for you! (Oh, just a dream). We love you and are praying for you, Gene and Neva.

",,,and there great friends God give you too."

A family with two teenagers in our church sent me the neatest card. First, it started out by saying “There are greater things than you can IMAGINE ahead of you—and there’s a great God walking beside you. When you open the card, a song starts playing ”How great is our God.” The lady of the house quoted Psalm 19:14-16 that says, “Because he loves me, ‘says the Lord,’ I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation.’” Then she wrote “We thank God that you are in his care…the Great Physician. And what a story, you will have to tell! Can’t wait for your first Sunday back.”

Their college age son wrote, “I appreciate the time and effort you put in to the church. Can’t wait to have you back.” Their high school daughter wrote, “Pastor, we are praying for you. We appreciate all you do for our church.” Dad wrote, “Thank you for being such a great example to all of us. You are as much of an inspiration to us there in a hospital bed as you are here in our church. But we look forward to having you back with us soon.”

"An Important Lesson and a Good Story"

My dear friend Ruth Matthews made this card and sent it. There is a lesson here. Her card reminded me of this story by Max Lucado.
Once there was an old man who lived in a tiny village. Although poor, he was envied by all, for he owned a beautiful white horse. Even the king coveted his treasure. A horse like this had never been seen before—such was its splendor, its majesty, its strength.

People offered fabulous prices for the steed, but the old man always refused. “This horse is not a horse to me,” he would tell them. “It is a person. How could you sell a person? He is a friend, not a possession. How could you sell a friend?” The man was poor and the temptation was great. But he never sold the horse.

One morning he found that the horse was not in the stable. All the village came to see him. “You old fool,” they scoffed, “we told you that someone would steal your horse. We warned you that you would be robbed. You are so poor. How could you ever hope to protect such a valuable animal? It would have been better to have sold him. You could have gotten whatever price you wanted. No amount would have been too high. Now the horse is gone, and you’ve been cursed with misfortune.”

The old man responded, “Don’t speak too quickly. Say only that the horse is not in the stable. That is all we know; the rest is judgment. If I’ve been cursed or not, how can you know? How can you judge?”

The people contested, “Don’t make us out to be fools! We may not be philosophers, but great philosophy is not needed. The simple fact that your horse is gone is a curse.”

The old man spoke again. “All I know is that the stable is empty, and the horse is gone. The rest I don’t know. Whether it be a curse or a blessing, I can’t say. All we can see is a fragment. Who can say what will come next?”

The people of the village laughed. They thought that the man was crazy. They had alwaysthought he was fool; if he wasn’t, he would have sold the horse and lived off the money. But instead, he was a poor woodcutter, an old man still cutting firewood and dragging it out of the forest and selling it. He lived hand to mouth in the misery of poverty. Now he had proven that he was, indeed, a fool.

After fifteen days, the horse returned. He hadn’t been stolen; he had run away into the forest. Not only had he returned, he had brought a dozen wild horses with him. Once again the village people gathered around the woodcutter and spoke. “Old man, you were right and we were wrong. What we thought was a curse was a blessing. Please forgive us.”

The man responded, “Once again, you go too far. Say only that the horse is back. State only that a dozen horses returned with him, but don’t judge. How do you know if this is a blessing or not? You see only a fragment. Unless you know the whole story, how can you judge? You read only one page of a book. Can you judge the whole book? You read only one word of a phrase. Can you understand the entire phrase?

“Life is so vast, yet you judge all of life with one page or one word. All you have is a fragment! Don’t say that this is a blessing. No one knows. I am content with what I know. I am not perturbed by what I don’t.”

“Maybe the old man is right,” they said to one another. So they said little. But down deep, they knew he was wrong. They knew it was a blessing. Twelve wild horses had returned with one horse. With a little bit of work, the animals could be broken and trained and sold for much money.

The old man had a son, an only son. The young man began to break the wild horses. After a few days, he fell from one of the horses and broke both legs. Once again the villagers gathered around the old man and cast their judgements.

“You were right,” they said. “You proved you were right. The dozen horses were not a blessing. They were a curse. Your only son has broken his legs, and now in your old age you have no one to help you. Now you are poorer than ever.”

The old man spoke again. “You people are obsessed with judging. Don’t go so far. Say only that my son broke his legs. Who knows if it is a blessing or a curse? No one knows. We only have a fragment. Life comes in fragments.”

It so happened that a few weeks later the country engaged in war against a neighboring country. All the young men of the village were required to join the army. Only the son of the old man was excluded, because he was injured. Once again the people gathered around the old man, crying and screaming because their sons had been taken. There was little chance that they would return. The enemy was strong, and the war would be a losing struggle. They would never see their sons again.

“You were right, old man,” they wept. “God knows you were right. This proves it. Yours son’s accident was a blessing. His legs may be broken, but at least he is with you. Our sons are gone forever.”

The old man spoke again. “It is impossible to talk with you. You always draw conclusions. No one knows. Say only this: Your sons had to go to war, and mine did not. No one knows if it is a blessing or a curse. No one is wise enough to know. Only God knows.”' Isn't that a grest story? You see, we don't know whether what happens to us but the child of God knows that God works all things together for good to those that are called according to His purpose.

A Little Wobbly

Hey, once they let me out of bed, they gave me a physical therapist to help me. Shortly, I was told that I needed a Cain since my balance was not all that good. Over three years ago, the chemo fried my feet and my balance has not been all that great. Now it is worse. Also, they wanted me to walk with someone. I suggested my wife and they said, “No, if you fall, you will crush her.” So they gave me a person to work with—a trained physical therapist. She was from Persia. See the picture and tell me that if I had fallen, I wouldn’t have crushed her!” She was much smaller than my wife. However, I never did fall and I am still working on my balance.

Friends Stay in Touch

Today, a friend of mine sent me a nice thing to view. You can view it too at:
http://www.lshs64.com/enjoytheride.html

Just copy and paste. It has a saying on it that reads, "Your job will not take care of you when you are sick, though I am thankful for the people of our church who are taking care of me. Then, it goes on to say, "Your friends will stay in touch."

How true this is. I can't list the friends who have stayed in touch with me. Some calling from out of the country no less than once a week, a lady in our church who sends me a card weekly, friends that will drive over to Stanford and bring you whatever you need, pictures that people have taken and put into cards, people who from time to time send cards that really have meaning and were well thought out, people who sent me their written prayers, people who came and cleaned our house when we came from the hospital and those who picked up the load at the church, who sent me 3 Griffey posters (eat your heart out boys) and there was much more. Yes, I have been touched by my friends. (The above picture is Dr. Dick and Sherrill Christen serving in Bermuda at the moment).

When I Thouhgt it was over, a Team said, "You have some Infections."

I thought that it was about over and in a few days would be going home. Instead, they found three infections, one in my lungs, one in my catheter which they took out and another in my digestive tract. Now it is fun to see the nurses try to find my veins to poke as my veins are hard to get to try and kill the infections. I was treated as an outpatient while we lived in a hotel in Palo Alto. However, I was put back into the hospital and eventually was allowed to live back in the hotel near Stanford with Koyce boiling my water, eating only certain foods.

Finally, I came back to Concord with treatment everyday for about three hours in Kaiser Walnut Creek. Now, it appears that the infections will be gone.

At present, my energy level is low. They tell me to expect this for up to six months to recover from the treatment. So far, the doctors are encouraged by my progress but to me, it seems so slow.

I Met a lot of Nice Friends

I was told from the get-go that I would have a hard time concentrating so reading was out. I could do puzzles and scrapbooking but that was really not my thing. But I tried to figure out a way to reach out to my nurses and nurses’ aides to hear what I wanted to share about Christianity. I soon discovered that these workers were from different countries. Four were from Persia, several from the Philippines one from the Caribbean, another from Ethiopia and a number from India. And the list went on.

I started with those from Persia and asked them if they had ever heard of the Magi? None had. Then, I mentioned the Wise Men at Christmas time. They had heard about this. That opened the door to telling them how Persia got the Christian message about Christ.

I had fun with a number of other countries such as India. Having been there on four different occasions, this opened the door. Then I told them some things that I had found in Don Richardson’s book, Eternity in their Hearts. Don is a former missionary and a cultural anthropologist. He says,

“Evolutionary theorists hold that the concept of one Supreme Being was reached only after proceeding through more lowly beliefs such as fetishes, nature gods, and polytheism. They now find evidence of the exact opposite, i.e., that the more ‘primitive’ tribes have more advanced ideas about one true God—monotheism! Thus, despite scholarly views to the contrary, historical and other records reject animism as the ‘original’ religion and they indicate that people have known of the one true God from the very beginning.” This is contrary to everything we are taught in our culture and most cultures like India!

One example. Let’s go back to India to Hindu writings. Now can you imagine any system more different to Christianity than Hinduism? We believe in one God and classical Hinduism believes in over 300 million gods. We believe in one life and they believe in reincarnation. We believe in grace and they believe in karma. But is it possible that even in Hinduism there is some reference to one true God and a coming Messiah? Well, if we look back far enough, this is exactly what we find. Hindu scripture is made of several different types of writings and in the oldest of their scriptures is the Vedas. And in the oldest of the Vedas are the Rigvedas, in fact, they are the oldest surviving writings on earth. And before them are the Upanishads, the very oldest of them and the very oldest of the Vedas are not polytheistic at all! They are monotheistic! They believe just in one true God, the God of creation.

But, there arose in India a priestly caste that ended up with just a bit of power. And as we all know, power tends to corrupt. And these leaders wanted absolute power so they devised a system where they could control people—rather than just than letting them go to God and trust him for salvation. And so they told the people that they needed to rely on them to tell them what to do to get God to smile upon their lives. And they said that when you die, you don’t go to heaven immediately. Instead, you advance through a series of lives and if you are good enough in this life and you give us, your priests, enough money—then maybe you will be good enough to get to heaven. And this is how they were able to control the people and this is how their ancient system of religion was corrupted. And one can see this pattern over and over again in all kinds of ancient cultures.

So, I just hinted at this stuff in various cultures that I had learned from this book and at this point, I had their interest, got their email addresses and told them that I would write to them with more specifics of their country whether in Africa or China. It was fun and I enjoyed my attempt at sharing Christ so very much and made over a dozen friends in the process. So, what did I do in the hospital, I tried to be like Paul in prison, sharing Christ as the opportunity arose.

What I called my Christmas Tree of Chemotherapy

I haven’t written anything for over a month because once I hit the Stanford Hospital, I didn’t feel much like writing and even had a hard time concentrating and seeing. So, except for a couple of articles previously that I had prepared, I added nothing. Maybe part of it could be seen in a recent USA Weekend article entitled, How a deadly gas became a lifesaver.

The word "chemotherapy" is inextricably linked to healing, although its origins derive from the deadly mustard gas used in World War I. Today, medical specialists all over the world use this powerful tool as part of cancer treatment. Now there are about 100 types of chemotherapy that are available for use—a huge accomplishment considering that it was only 60 years ago that the Food and Drug Administration approved the first chemotherapeutic agent.

During World War I, it was noted that many soldiers exposed to mustard gas developed declines in bone and lymph system function. Scientists theorized that such chemical power, if harnessed, might wreak havoc on cancer cells. In 1942, when an anonymous patient first received "Compound X," doctors hoped that the cancer would respond favorably, which it did, at least for a short period of time.

By 1949, enough positive studies were available to convince the FDA to approve nitrogen mustard for treatment. Since then, strides in chemotherapy have given cancer specialists more options. Although these drugs are harsh and can be dangerous, they are lifesavers. Considering the original chemical was developed as a tool of death, that's a pleasant irony. Tedd Mitchell, M.D., president and CEO of Dallas' Cooper Clinic, writes HealthSmart every week. So this is really what I encountered. I ended up taking chemotherapy that was up to ten times worse than I had been previously given. This gave me sores in my mouth and throat and several weeks of recovery were the least of the problems. The worst seemed to be the mental condition it put me in. It seemed to leave me disoriented. A nurse talked to me a couple of weeks later and told how I wanted to get out of the room, go outside and they had to restrain me. I don’t remember much of the evening except for the bad dreams I had that night. It was a terrible experience to have and I was finally happy when I was finished with two such doses of this heavy chemo. In addition, the medicines they pump into you makes one a little hazy in one’s thinking. One day a nurse suspected this with me and asked me a number of questions. One was, “Who is the president of the United States?” I said, “Osama bin Laden!” They rushed me off to ER! Koyce was quite a trouper to sit there and watch me in this condition until they finally encouraged her to go the place she was staying.