May 2nd, 2009



Dear Friends,



Greetings from an exceptionally warm Denmark! I hope this letter finds you enjoying a beautiful spring and experiencing the beauty of new life as nature breaks forth in all its glory!



Many have written recently asking about an update on how Peter is doing. Well, that, dear friends, is something we wish we knew! Physically at this point he would say that the itching seems to be about 20 percent less, but is still quite unbearable. It is a relief to have some relief, but it is by no means something he can continue to live with. Where he is at in terms of progress on the tumors…we have been at a loss lately as we have hit some walls here in Denmark with regards to getting Peter tested and continuing with treatment. Let me back up to Peter’s time at St. George Hospital in Munich, Germany.



While in Germany the doctors there felt very strongly that Peter does not only have lymphoma, but that he also has another disease. This particular disease can actually be the cause of lymphoma. I hesitate to name it at this point in time, just because we don’t have a definite diagnosis yet from the doctor. However, as I have researched this disease, spending countless hours digging into the various forms and symptoms it seems HIGHLY likely that he does have it. The problem is that it is very difficult to diagnose and all of the tests used for diagnosis have a very high false negative percentage. I have read dozens of online-forums with hundreds of people writing stating that it took their doctors between 1 and 10 years to finally confirm a diagnosis. Apart from the tests not being accurate, the disease itself takes on the form of all kinds of other diseases and often goes completely undetected, even until an autopsy report reveals it. Although it is considered a chronic disease, with no officially known cure, we've heard of a treatment that has proven to actually cure the disease, if not at the very least relieve the symptoms. It is very intense and extreme, and can take up to 3 years, but it apparently works.



So, Peter returned to Denmark and we went to our doctor to request two things:


1. A scan to see the progress on the tumors after treatment. You probably remember that there was significant shrinkage after the first full body hyperthermia and Peter had a second one right before leaving Germany. The doctor told him that usually after the second hyperthermia the tumors respond even more drastically.


2. A series of tests to try to diagnose the other disease. He would need a skin biopsy, possibly a tumor biopsy from his chest, some blood work etc.



When we spoke to the doctor he informed us that, as we were not willing to undergo chemotherapy at the advice of the oncologist at the hospital that both he and the oncologist thought we should just go to a private hospital. (We checked into the cost of a scan at a private hospital in Denmark and it costs more than a plane ticket & scan in the US! The doctor then took one look at Peter’s skin and declared that he didn’t have the other disease. Hmmmm. Doctors can’t make a definite diagnosis with tests, but he can take one look and determine exactly what it is. I then searched for myself in an online medical dictionary as well as through several research papers from various universities and discovered that the skin lesions this particular disease can cause can look any number of ways and I even found pictures of exactly what Peter has on his skin. Once again, I have to say, Hmmmm.



Well, all of that to say that we have been in touch with the Danish Cancer Society and an office dealing with patients care & rights and they are all looking into how to help us and are in agreement that this is not right. Our general practitioner is really the cork in the bottle, because he is the one who has to order all the tests. By the way, in the midst of my research I came across a study done on this particular disease and it’s response to chemotherapy that is used to treat lymphoma and the findings showed that the patients did not respond well to chemo and that the other disease remained unaffected, but the breakdown of the body gave way for this disease to then move in and take over various organs. I am so thankful to God for leading us the way He has!



There is WAY more that has been going on…including the discovery that a radiologist withheld information way back in July that would have been extremely helpful to have. Namely, that the tumors in Peter’s neck had shrunk to almost normal and were no longer considered to necessarily be cancerous tumors, but possibly just enlarged lymph nodes. This radiologist knew that we were doing alternative treatment and made it very clear that he was firmly against it. He focused on the tumors in Peter’s chest that had only had very minimal shrinkage. Those tumors are very much in line with this other disease and could very possibly be completely unrelated to the lymphoma! Sadly, had we had all this information last July we would have, first of all, been extremely happy to know that we had seen so much progress after all those months of hard work, but also we might have come to the conclusions we are coming to now much sooner that Peter is dealing with a second disease, which in reality is most likely the primary disease. By the way, they took three biopsies in Germany of the tumor in Peter’s shoulder and all of them came back inconclusive. This would be another indication that those tumors are related to the other disease. I am not saying that he is cancer free, but that it appears that not all the tumors are related to lymphoma.



So friends, this is where we are at. In the words of many a sick patient in Denmark “You have to be really strong to be weak in Denmark.”



I suppose you are now asking if we will just put Peter on a plane and send him back to the states for tests. We have considered that, but at this point we feel that we need to stay here and at least try once more to fight for our rights. We will wait a little longer and if it doesn’t look like we are making any headway then we will probably do that…or even possibly go somewhere else in Europe. Going back to St. George Hospital in Germany is also an option, but we need to wait till we know for sure about this other disease, and till we have more information on where he’s at with the lymphoma.



In spite of all of this we can still say that God is so good to us! We have been experiencing so much of the revelation and tenderness of God through all of this. He is truly so faithful and so awesome. He continues to use this to draw us deeper into Him and to show us His love and compassion for us and for this lost and dying world. We continue to use the pain of our own situation to feel the heart of God for this world and to focus our prayers for the this nation and the nations we work into and it is truly a powerful way to pray.



I personally had an experience while Peter was in Germany that simply blew my mind. To make a long story short, I woke up one morning with a song going through my mind and a desire to play it on the piano that was so strong I felt I would go crazy if I didn’t do it RIGHT NOW! So I raced over to the prayer room here at the YWAM center and sat down at the piano and instantly began playing this song. I started worshipping with my eyes closed (I can only play songs I memorized almost 30 years ago and I’ve also never been able to play and sing OR close my eyes while playing) and the presence of God was so heavy on me it was incredible! At one point I had a sense that I was worshipping in the throne room of God and that Peter was also worshipping in the throne room of God. It was a very intense sense and a very deep moment of worship. After a while I looked at my watch and 4 hours had gone by! I had to go get CammiAnn from school so I ran back to our house and Peter was just writing a message on Skype. He said, “Shanie you’re not going to believe this, but ever since 8:30 this morning I have been having the most incredible time in the presence of God!” I had started playing at 8:30! The next day after I had told Elizabeth about it she suggested we go to the prayer room and have worship together and she played the guitar while I played the piano and it was amazing…oh yeah, did I tell you that she doesn’t play the guitar!



One other highlight for us this past week is that Amanda has returned after almost 9 months away! She completed her DTS last weekend and returned to us on Monday! Words can not describe our joy at having her home with us again! She had an amazing time and is excited about the things that God has in store for her. Right now she is taking some time to settle in and seek God for the next step as she has several options she is considering. Her sisters are of course absolutely thrilled to have her home again.



Another highlight is that CammiAnn turned 13 last week! She had a birthday party where she invited her whole class and they had a great time having the run of the base here! We now have 3 teenagers for the next 6 months before Elizabeth turns 20 in September and plans to spend time in Australia, continuing her studies in media production. Right now she is working part time in a preschool saving money for her education and working part time at the YWAM base as well as helping us with various projects and easing every day life in general for us. She’s such a blessing!



In ministry news, Peter and I will be leaving next Friday (May 8th) for Tbilisi, Georgia (the country) and Yerevan, Armenia together with 2 dear friends, Birger and Svenn, where we will connect with the YWAM guys in Armenia and then teach on a DTS in Georgia. We are every excited about this upcoming trip. Although it’s difficult to travel under the circumstances, we have found that Peter tends to do better when he is out and involved in hands-on ministry than when he is home. So please pray that especially the actual travel time would be easy on him and that God would give him a special grace and time of relief. Pray also that the students would be deeply impacted as we share God’s heart with them.



I want to thank everyone who has helped us to send Peter to Germany for treatment and all of those who have continued to support us in this difficult time, both financially as well as through your prayers and words of encouragement. Please forgive me for not always writing back. I am truly a bit overwhelmed with all of the changes in our lives as well as facing this new challenge of not only fighting for our rights, but dealing with an additional illness and all that this entails. Hopefully soon we will have more information for you. Please pray that God would direct our steps and put us in contact with the right people.



I think this has gotten long enough so I will stop now.



May the Lord bless you richly and may you come into a deeper revelation of His infinite love for you with each passing day!



Blessings,

Shanie


Calendar:

May 8 – 16 Teaching in DTS in Tbilisi, Georgia.
May 26 – June 4 YWAM meetings in Budapest, Hungary.
June 8 – 12 Teaching in PCYM school in Heidebeek, Netherlands