An Update From The Dr.

Words From Dr. Vladimir:
Hello friends. I just felt like it is time to write a short update on My health so that you would know how to pray for me if our Lord places that
desire in your heart. I do appreciate each one of your prayers and emails.

Yesterday they returned my brain biopsy results as multiform glioblastoma.
This is the worst possible malignant tumor of the brain. Even two years ago
they would not give me more then 6 month life expectancy with that. But now
at MD Andersons they think it is not the end of the world. The tumor like that cannot be removed as it sits deep in the brain and it will stay with me
probably as long as I live. But at least now they are giving me treatment that has prolonged people decent quality of life for up to 2-3 years, which
is good. Newer experimental treatments are now looking at 6-8 years survival. If tumor is stable and allows me to work it will be a success. Would you pray for the success, please?

I started chemotherapy yesterday and will start radiation therapy Hopefully on Monday. Feel pretty weak but I am not going to give up. I will have to take 30 radiation treatments and 6 chemotherapy treatments to stabilize and hopefully to even decrease the tumor so that I could go back to work. I will have to stay here for 6 weeks for that.
God has been good to me in every possible way and I am staying with wonderful Christians Roger and Debbie Stevens who take great care of me. Apparently my tumor is actively draining energy from the brain and sometimes I just have to eat like right now or I fall and can't get up; that has happened during the day and night as I cannot sleep well too. So Debbie was nice enough to fix me some eggs and bacon and store in the fridge so I could grab and eat at least a bit and that will bring me back on my feet. She takes me to the hospital and even pulled the wheelchair with me (she is small lady over 60) as I could not make it on my feet yesterday and the day before yesterday. I really appreciate her care so much. I would not be able to make it without her.

I will have to stay on chemotherapy for life they explained; once in several months I will do MRI to see if tumor is stable. If it is growing then they will add more chemotherapy or radiation. So it looks like I will need to struggle for life like every day as long as I live.

Even before the biopsy came back as I prayed God told me: "I am going to give you the worst possible tumor. But that's alright. I need you with the incurable tumor here. It has to do not only with you but also with people around you. Mostly it has to do with people back home, but also with some people here in America. So don't be selfish and do not only think about yourself. Just trust me and I will take good care of you." I do trust God who does not sleep nor slumber. As Gary Lehman said, however God is going to use us, it is fine. I believe so too. So I have peace in my heart and I am not going to give up.

I do have major prayer request. Because it looks like I will have to stay on chemotherapy for the rest of my life I will need to have it available. The treatment I receive now is free and I am grateful for the opportunity immensely. But I have to think about my treatment after I go back home. Temodar, the drug my oncologists recommend to me to take "as long as it works for me", that is, for life costs like 2 thousand dollars a month in the Ukraine (5 in US). Other treatments are cheaper but they do not allow for work because of toxic side effects and people cannot keep up with their jobs. I would like to continue working as I have wonderful and fulfilling job as pediatric urologist back home. So my prayer request for you would be that God would provide me with this Temodar for life or give me decent income so that I could afford it as long as I need.

Thank you so much for your prayers. I do appreciate each one of them.
Vladimir.