The journey goes on...

Rare adj
1. not often happening or found
2. particularly interesting or valuable, especially to collectors or scholars, because only a few exist
3. unusually great or excellent
4. thin in density and containing so little oxygen that breathing is difficult


Our journey goes on. It is a rare journey in all the meanings listed above.

You know as we do that Paget’s disease of the nipple is not often found. I suppose that makes it of particular interest to the medical community.

But suppose that Deb had not just one form of Pagets disease but two? In that event, then God’s grace would have to be unusually great, and we would be left a bit winded.

So it is and so we are.

Tuesday Debbie went for a second biopsy for a lesion that we have been watching for a number of months now. There had been some other tests and treatments but nothing really made it better. Hence the biopsy. Three deep conical excisions removed from three areas that should have represented the center, the edge and normal tissue. All came back with a positive confirmation of gynecological Paget’s disease. Debbie learned the results on Thursday and phoned me. I was in Los Angeles on my way to Indonesia. So here it is:

Gynecological Paget’s disease is an extremely rare form of abnormal cells that are either a precursor to cancer or indicate an underlying cancer. There is no relationship between the breast cancer Paget’s disease and this gynecological form. There are only four other known cases reported in medical literature of women with both. Deb will undergo a “wide excision” surgery to remove all the abnormal Paget’s cells along with a margin of safety and a sampling of lymph nodes in the groin. The pathology report will indicate the extent and staging of cancer, if in fact there is indication of cancer beyond the presence of the Paget’s cells. Her recovery period will be about three weeks. We will have a well renowned doctor who trained and works at Johns Hopkins in addition to Mercy Medical Center where she will have the surgery

Yes, I went on to Indonesia. You probably wonder why? Of course by the time I heard I was already 8 hours into the trip that lasted for about 42 hours. But that was not a reason to carry on. The reason to carry on is that in times of rare air, you have to carry on. If you are swimming at the bottom of a body of water you don’t stop swimming or you drown. If you are climbing Mt Everest you don’t stop or you freeze. So we decided to go on. The conference here is short, and my part is over by Wednesday. Perhaps I will be able to make an early return.

It is a unique moment here. Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. Significant violent conflict has occurred between Muslims and Christians here. As usual there is a history of significant conflict in the church among leaders. This conference begins with the government blessing, the Muslim community will be represented by a highly respected leader. Over forty denominations are already represented, and over 2300 attendees are here. The seminary dean is in my DMin program in Manila and has helped bring this gathering of church leaders, Indonesian missionaries, Muslim and national leaders to a conference on biblical peacemaking. This too is rare air.

Tuesday Debbie has an appointment with an unusually excellent doctor. He will advise and plan for a surgery sometime in the near future that will not only take the “wide excision” but attempt to redo some of the pelvic surgery that did not “take” six weeks ago. By the time I get back we should know when that might happen and what it might involve. Right now we are just holding our breath.

Genesis says that the Creator God exhaled into Adam the “breath of life”, and he lived. He lived to labor. He labored to show God’s glory. God’s glory was reflected in Adam’s love and obedience. It was even better reflected when God provided for redemption when Adam made the choice to sin. That sin infected the world and we now live in that infected world. But the Redeemer lives. He breathes into us the breath of life that neither Paget’s nor any other presence or power can take from us. That is rare air—nothing is greater or better. Breathe it with us.