Excellent News!

As many of you know, today my handsome husband started his chemo-radiation treatments. If all goes as hoped for, the first few weeks should be relatively easy, with tiredness as the main potential symptom. We can do tiredness. We have a large comfy bed. I am glad to get the ball rolling, but today wasn't a day either Ryan and I have been waiting for like Christmas.  Imagine my great surprise when this somewhat stinky day became instantly fabulous.  I got a call late this afternoon from his genetic councilor informing me of the results of some of Ryan's lab tests.  Because he is so young (and hot) the doctors were naturally concerned that his cancer was caused by a genetic mutation known as "Lynch Syndrome." This is a nasty inheritance indeed, and would increase the odds to almost 50% that other family members who carried the syndrome would get colon cancer.  It really did look like a very plausible solution to the question "Why does such a young, attractive man have colon cancer?" However,  it officially turns out that Ryan's cancer is not the result of a syndrome, but is just an unlucky fluke of nature... and by this I mean that colon cancer is a chapter that God wants in our family's lives... but that it isn't something that every one of his siblings, nieces, nephews, cousins, and children will need to be tested for.  What a blessing!  Thanks for all of the prayers that have been offered for our family.  It's probably time time to dance.

Tonight some of my friends and I went out to celebrate 6 years of our neighborhood cooking group, known as Iron Chef Bountiful (ICB.) WE were scheduled to do this shin dig about three weeks ago, but my dear friends opted to reschedule the night, since I was knee deep in a shocking cancer diagnosis, and Ryan was still up at the ER.  I love my girlfriends!