Peggy and I came to Waco, Texas, the first of January this year so I
could serve as intentional interim pastor of the First Baptist Church of
Lorena, a small town about twelve miles south of Waco on Interstate 35. This
was my second interim position in Texas. I signed up for interim work there
because our daughter and her family live in Waco, and Peggy has a lot of
relatives in the state. We rented a small apartment in Waco and looked forward
to spending a year or more with the people at Lorena. We planned to make short
trips to Nashville every six weeks.
On the first trip back I went for my annual physical and
found that my PSA (prostate specific antigen) had risen significantly, a
possible indication of prostate cancer. It took several more trips to get more
tests and a diagnosis. In May I went to my urologist for a biopsy and was told
that I have a very aggressive type of cancer. Another visit in June led to a
treatment plan and shot to suppress the hormones that feed this kind of cancer.
There was no sign of metastasis in the bone scan or the CT scan but there is
the possibility of some microscopic local spreading. This meant that surgery is
not indicated, and the best approach is hormone therapy and external beam
radiation. I began hormone therapy on June 6.
On July 29 I met with my radiation oncologist and began
preparations for treatment to commence in late August and continue for nine
weeks. This kind of treatment is not too hard on the patient, and I will be
able to be active and feel reasonably well during the process. I currently have
no pain or other symptoms and can function normally. I expect the treatment to
be successful.
I am glad to live in a time when people are more open about
cancer, but I still find that many do not know how to relate to the cancer
patient. Cancer is still a scary word and a scary reality. There are many kinds
and degrees of cancer. For some people it is a terminal illness. For many
others it can be cured only by means of debilitating and painful treatment.
Mine is not in those categories, so I don’t want people to be worried about me.
On the other hand, it is potentially dangerous, so I do appreciate people being
concerned and offering their prayers.
I will conclude my service at Lorena on August 17 and move
back to Nashville. I greatly regret not finishing the work there, but they have
found another experienced intentional interim minister in the area who can step
in and pick up where I left off. The people in the church are very loving and
supportive and we have enjoyed very much being with them. We are grateful that
we will always have friends in Lorena. We have other friends and relatives in
Texas whom we had hoped to visit during our stay and several side trips we
wanted to take, but those will have to wait a while.
