3/29 More Good News!

I’m so grateful and blessed to report that the neurosurgeon stated that everything “looked great” after reviewing my MRI this month. I will not need to return for another one until the middle of July. Praise God and thanks to you all for your continued prayer support.

Cherishing Every God-Given Day,

Janelle

2/14 Television News Interview

For  those of you interested in a local news story that our family was featured on to raise awareness of and funding for the North Carolina Brain Tumor Fund you can see the interview at www.btfcnc.org. My story is the third interview in the piece. The boys are thrilled that they are now “famous.” Andrew is ready to sign autographs as needed. I continue to feel really good.  My next MRI will be scheduled for the end of March.  Hope you are all well and keeping warm. Believe it or not, I am jealous of all of you who are getting lots of snow!

Cherishing Every God-Given Day,

Janelle

1/04/07 Happy New Year!

Hello Everyone-

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. There were a few times this past spring 2006 that I honestly wasn’t sure if I was going to be here to celebrate them. Praise God for his provision and faithfulness over this past “bumpy” year of our lives.  On New Year’s Eve we like to share the best moments of the past year. This year Willem and I looked at each other and instantly knew that ours was the same. It was waking up after surgery and realizing that I was the same individual I had always been, minus a very large brain  tumor. It still seems surreal.  God has been so faithful and provided so much support to our family. We are thankful to all of our friends and family who acted as his arms to support us through that time.

Just a few weeks ago, I received my third stable MRI report. Praise God!  Now we can start spacing the MRIs out a little longer. My next one will be in April.

You never want anyone to have suffering in their lives, but it can really bring you to a whole new level of faith in our Heavenly Father’s plan. Despite this, the van Beeks are really hoping for an uneventful 2007!!

10/27 Thank You All!!

Wow!!!! How can I possibly say thank you for such an incredible gift of encouragement? I received the amazing album that my good friends Debbie Smith and Tani Trejo put together with pictures and notes from so many of you. It is wonderful to see all of your smiling faces, read your words of encouragement and to be reminded of all of those who have been remembering our family so faithfully to our Heavenly Father. I cry tears of joy and thanksgiving every time I look at it. It is such a reminder to me of how God works within the body of believers to build one another up in His love, especially during the difficult trials of life. It is also a reminder of God’s amazing provision of such incredible friendships throughout my life thus far.  One of the blessings of having cancer (yes, there really are blessings!) has been to be in contact with so many friends that we hadn’t been in contact with for quite some time. 

 I wish I could share with you all of the quotes and encouraging words this beautiful album contains. I know I will look at it over and over again. Tani put some quotes from the book, “You Gotta Keep Dancin’” by Tim Hansel. Tim has struggled with chronic pain since being involved in an accident several years ago. Here are a few that really spoke to my heart;

“I don’t know how much string is left on my ball of twine. There are no guarantees as to how long any of us will live, but I know full well that I would rather make my days count than merely count my days.”

“There is something very special about life, but many people-in fact, most- miss it. In an overemphasis on “important” things, we often overlook the intrinsic value of life itself. We have confused form with essence. We have placed our supreme value on surface things and have forgotten the substance. We have begun to believe the radio and tv commercials and have put so many overlays on our life that we can no longer see the fine-grained texture of everyday life itself, the mystery of the ordinary.”

“Have we forgotten how special Wednesdays can be? Have we forgotten how different November is when the trees appear in the lean economy of leafless elegance? Have we somehow fallen into a rut where we think that all Mondays are dreary or that February is a difficult month? Have we gotten trapped into comparisons and ingratitudes? Are we in the habit of always putting off an experience until we can afford it? Or until the time is right? Or until we know how to do it? Procrastination over the joy of being alive is on of the greatest burglars I know.”

“Just because we take something for granted, doesn’t mean it still isn’t miraculous.”

Finally, something that I have continually reminded myself is that cancer, spina bifida,( insert your personal trial here) will not define who I am and I refuse to let it steal the joy in this God-given day.

I hope these insights encourage your heart as they did mine. 

As for a health update, I continue to feel great, exercise regulary and eat well.  Both things I have wanted to be disciplined at for years but always found reasons why I couldn’t. Well, no longer. Cancer has blessed me with a whole new attitude about taking care of my health! My next MRI will be in early January. I’ll keep everyone posted.

 Cherishing Every God-Given Day,

Janelle

9/28 Test Results

I received “the test result call” on Tuesday afternoon.  I am so grateful to God to report more good news from the neurosurgeon. His nurse called to say that everything looked stable with even slight improvement from the scan two months ago.  The plan now is to have the next MRI in three months. Thanks for all of your prayers and support!

 Cherishing Every God-Given Day,

                                    Janelle

9/18 Update

Thank you so much for all of your encouraging e-mails, cards, phone calls and prayers over the last two weeks. Each and every one of you are a blessing to our lives. God’s provision amazes me sometimes! Quick update about the last two weeks…Last Monday I had the remainder of the melanoma removed, including some of the area surrounding it. The recovery was not bad at all. I was able to lift Jakob as needed, which was really good because I hadn’t realized that Willem would be out of town for a few days last week. Today, I had a follow-up MRI. Unfortunately, I won’t know the results until sometime in the middle of next week. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for peace and courage. I feel calm and optimistic and am beginning to be able to think about things other than cancer for longer periods of time. I have been attending a Women’s Bible Study at my church. I am doing a study called, “Walking By Faith (lessons learned in the dark).” The study was written by a woman who became blind at age 15. I have been so encouraged by her insight and faith. She has recently been talking about the differences between walking by faith-willing to take a step, following God and giving up control, responding with thankfulness, perserverance, guided by truth, willingness to wait on God, as opposed to walking by sight-playing it safe, seizing control, responding with bitterness and anger, quitting, being influenced by feelings, and waiting on things from God. Throughout the study she emphasizes that, “When I choose to walk by faith and not by sight-no matter how hard life is-I can simply say, “It is well with my soul even if it may not be well with my circumstance.”

I wil post another update as soon as I know the MRI results, as well as what the next treatment steps will be. Thank you all for remembering me to the Father. You all are a real encouragement to me.

Cherishing Every God-Given Day,

                            Janelle

9/08 Update

Hello Everyone-

I know my blog has been silent for a while. The last several weeks have been busy enjoying the end of the summer with a vacation to the beach in August and then sending the boys back to school and getting through all of the extra preparation that this brings. Andrew has started full day kindergarten and is loving it, though is still struggling to understand that school is now all day, everyday (“I have to go to school again tomorrow?”). I now have three mornings a week to myself for the first time in 8 years.

I continue to feel well physically, though emotions are sometimes more like a roller coaster these days as I have more time alone and really begin to process what has transpired in our lives during the past 5 months. I can still hardly believe it! Now I have to remind myself that everyone feels tired sometimes and that if I’m a little more tired one day this doesn’t mean the cancer is growing back again. Living for today and not focusing and worrying about the what ifs has been difficult for me lately.

Unfortunately, I have a new health issue, though not nearly as scary as a brain tumor. I went to see the dermatologist in August for a routine mole check. He removed 3 small moles and one biopsy came back as a melanoma. Fortunately, it is small and has been caught very early. On Sept. 11th I go in to have on outpatient surgery to have more of the surrounding area removed. Another date would have been fine with me! Anyway, I will now need to be watching sun exposure and have at least 2x yearly appts with the dermatologist for check-ups. The mole is behind my left knee. Since I will have to have stitches there, bending and walking, especially with Jakob, may be difficult for a few days.

As far as the brain tumor, my next MRI is scheduled for Sept. 18th at 11:45AM to see if there has been any change or progression of the cancer or if what the scan showed in July was indeed scar tissue.

So, this is the update for the van Beeks. I ask for your prayers for both of these medical issues, as I feel more anxious as the dates approach. Waiting for results has been a particularly emotional and anxious time for me. I am trying to rest in God’s perfect plan, but some days are harder than others. 

Cherishing Every God-Given Day,

Janelle

7/28 Praising God and Sobbing Tears of Incredible Joy!!!!

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!” Ephesians 3:20

Hello to all of our faithful, praying friends and family!

God has indeed heard and answered our prayers and I have been sobbing tears of joy and thankfulness since yesterday and even as I write this this morning. We finally received the test results yesterday afternoon after a long and fairly agonizing wait. Our neurosurgeon was very pleased with what he saw on the MRI scans and he is now supportive of a decision of no chemotherapy based on these results (consistent with the oncologist). It is somewhat complicated to explain. After surgery, there was a “tumor cavity” (area where the tumor was removed; radiation was aimed at an area slightly larger than the tumor cavity) of anywhere from 6.5-8.5 cm. Apparently, my brain has now settled back into most of this area, leaving only about a 2.5 cm fluid-filled space. Around the periphery of the space there are several tiny nodules, the largest of which are about 2-3 mm in size. These could be scar tissue or potentially small remnant cancer spots. Based on these scan results, Dr. Asher does support the decision to hold off on chemotherapy at this point. The plan now is to take my scans to the “cancer board” of experts that meets at the clinic next week to see if they agree. If they do, we will complete another scan in 2 months to watch for any change in these nodules. The reasoning behind this approach is that (i) surgery and radiation appear to have been very successful; (ii) the type of tumor (oligodendroglioma) is a slower growth type of tumor, giving us hope that there would be more time to react if change is seen on the MRIs in the future; and (iii) genetic testing at Mayo had indicated 2 chromosomal deficiencies, which are linked to higher “chemosensitivity” (i.e. it is likely that chemo will be an effective tool in fighting cancer if it is needed in the future). Can anybody tell that Willy does the writing about the medical details and I take over the rest of the entry? This is why he helped edit my papers at Taylor and why I started receiving much better grades my senior year in college!

Anyway, I am praying that if I stay focused on a healthy lifestyle including a balanced diet, exercise and relaxation that chemo may never be necessary. Believe me, I won’t be exchanging my green tea for cherry coke any time soon! However, on Monday of this week I met with a holistic doctor who is also a board certified physician in our area. He stated that he did not agree with the idea that sugar feeds cancer and pointed out that much of our food gets turned into glucose anyway. He encouraged me to continue to make the good choices I was about eating, but to make sure that I don’t follow a diet of “disallowance.”  He helped me to relax about my food choices and encouraged an “everything in moderation” approach. He really helped to simplify what I had been doing and was very positive and encouraging. So, I will continue on with what I have begun as far as diet, exercise and to work on implementing more relaxation. He recommended one evening a week and 6 hours on one weekend day of doing absolutely no work. Gee, haven’t I heard somewhere about taking a rest on the Sabbath?  God knows it is what we need. It is not just a random suggestion. This Dr. stated that people in Eastern countries believe that Americans have so many health problems because they never slow down.

I went to a water park on Wednesday with the boys and my niece who was visiting. As I was floating along on the lazy river, it occurred to me that about 1 year ago I started praying that God would help me to live in the moment and fully enjoy what I was doing without being so focused on what had to be done in the next hour, that evening, the next day or the next week. Wow! Did He answer that prayer or what? By the way, just a tip, wearing a new wig, even with a hat, on the lazy river where you think you won’t get it wet – bad idea!! But, hilarious if you have young boys!

So, there are no words to express how unbelievably grateful we are to all of you who have prayed for us, encouraged us, sent us countless gifts, cards, CDs and so much more. You have truly been a source of strength and inspiration and helped to carry us through this storm, that on some days has felt more like a tsunami!! Please remember to praise our God for his amazing faithfulness and provision! We love you all!!

Cherishing Every God-Given Day and the Trials that Help us See Him,

Janelle

7/20 Update

Thanks to all of you who remembered to pray for my MRI scan this morning. I will not know the results until next week. Physically, I continue to feel great and sometimes even forget for a little while that I have been diagnosed with cancer. My emotions can still be all over the map. I am trying hard to rest in the “shadow of His wings.” My sister reminded me of this verse this morning – Phillipians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything; but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Please pray that I will continue to have this peace in the midst of an unknown future and that the next treatment steps would be clear to us. Thanks for your continued prayer support.

Cherishing Every God-Given Day,

                    Janelle

7/08 Update

Hello Everyone-

Thanks to all of you who regularly check our blog. We haven’t updated for a while, because there has not been much news. We have actually been having a really fun summer thus far with a recent visit from my sister Mel and her husband Carlos, a week off for Willem, fireworks, a concert, lots of pool time and more family visits scheduled through August. Today we are planning to go up to the mountains for the day with the boys. We love that it is only a little more than two hours to the Asheville area. I continue to feel like my “old self” and have been experimenting with all kinds of new recipes, for which my family has been the guinea pigs. So far, there have been no real disasters! Jakob is also doing very well and getting so much stronger. He has started walking much longer distances in his walker this summer, scoots down the stairs without help regularly, and we’re seeing slow but steady progress in his use of his right hand. We are very excited about his progress. 

Our next step in my treatment will be to have an MRI on July 20th at 11:30. This is a very important scan because it will give us some indication of how successful the radiation has been and will be the basis for the decision about the next step in treatment. As we stated in an earlier blog entry, the oncologist feels that we can proceed with scans every three months to watch for any growth or change, but the neurosurgeon wants to have all the info from the scan before making a determination about potentially beginning with chemo in August. He seems to be a little more aggressive in his treatment approach, but has also treated numerous primary brain tumor patients and is a national leader both in surgery and research. There is also some disagreement about how much they will be able to tell about the effectiveness of radiation with scans this early.  According to the oncologist, during the initial months post radiation, the body is “clearing out” dead cancer cells and scans completed this early might be difficult to read accurately. He also stated that if we begin chemo based on the early scan results and see tumor reduction in later scans, we could mistakenly attribute tumor reduction to the chemo when it is really the residual effect of radiation. He seems to feel that radiation is enough at this time and that chemotherapy could be saved for later if the cancer begins to grow again, especially since the genetic testing previously done indicated that chemo will likely be effective in fighting this type of cancer. So, our new prayer requests are that my heart would remain calm as I wait to have the MRI and to hear the results approximately one week later, that the results would be positive and clear and that the doctors would come to a consensus on how to proceed. Pray that all of the vegetables, green tea and soy that I am eating and desserts and caffeine I am refusing would be unmistakably evident in my brain!! I personally am praying that I will not have to have chemo and would continue to be able to care for my boys without feeling sick from chemo, but of course we want to do what is best for my health and realize that that may mean choosing to have chemo. As always, we will surrender to God’s plan and ask that He would guide us. Thanks for your continued prayer support for our family!