Dear Praying Friends

I am going to reprint this letter as it was sent to me. Adam and Jenny Travis are missionaries to India. They are currently raising support. Their oldest little daughter, Esther Joy, has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. The letter speaks for itself. My heart is broken for this family, but they have tremendous faith. I will send updates on this thread as I receive them. I have a couple now, but I will wait until folks have a chance to read this before I update.

Take care, Gang, and thanks for praying for this precious little girl.

Dear Praying Friends,

As many of you have already heard through email or phone calls, our oldest daughter, Esther Joy, has been diagnosed with Stage 4 Cancer. Stage 4 means that the Cancer has infiltrated her bone marrow, which allows the cancer cells to be easily spread through her whole body, by her blood stream. The main location of the cancer is a large tumor that runs along her backbone, from the about the top of her kidneys down into her lower pelvis. The tumor encases her aorta and other blood vessels in the pelvis area making it impossible to surgically remove it. Additional scans confirm that there are other areas in her arms and legs and vertebrae as well.

She began chemotherapy early Friday morning. This is the first of six chemotherapy treatments, each treatment consisting of 72hrs of IV Chemotherapy with two to three weeks of recovery time. After five treatments she will have a surgery to remove what can be removed of the tumor. Then she will have one more treatment to finish off the chemotherapy. Once she is finished with the chemotherapy she will need to have a bone marrow transplant. The doctors hope to be able to use a healthy sample of her own bone marrow for the transplant. The transplant itself will require a large dose of chemotherapy to kill off her current bone marrow before they transplant the new.

After the transplant she will need radiation treatments to kill off the remaining areas of cancer. This whole process will take nearly a year to complete.

Our deputation will be changing somewhat as we go through this process. I will be driving to meetings by myself when I am able, while Jennifer and the kids stay at home with her parents in Tulsa.

Our greatest need right now is prayer. The doctors say statistically patients with Stage 4 Cancer have about a 20% chance of surviving. Pray also for our family that we might grow in faith and trust in the Lord as we fight this battle. Thank you so much for your outpouring of love and prayer already. Our home church Southeast Baptist Church in Tulsa is setting up an account to receive any monetary gifts people may desire to send. Their address and phone number is :

Southeast Baptist Church
1402 S. Memorial Drive
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74112
(918) 836-6617
mailto: [email protected]

We will keep you posted on Esther’s progress.

In His Loving Hand,
Adam and Jennifer Travis - India

Here is an update I received yesterday on Esther Joy Travis.

Please continue to pray for Esther Joy.

Here is a quick update concerning Esther Joy: she has been off chemo for a few days now and she is responding well. Tomorrow, she will go for a scan to see where the cancer is and how it is responding. She is moving around a little and she was even able to sit in her mother's lap. Her hair has not fallen out yet, but she has lost a little of it. The hospital wanted her to cut it off to make it easier, but that was very bothersome to Esther Joy as she "did not want to look like a boy." She is still nauseated and does not want to eat yet. One of the side effects of the chemo is dry skin, so they have been rubbing her down with lotion. Also, on the positive side, the fluid in her body is draining and her weight is only two to three pounds above normal. However, her white-blood-cell count, on a one-five scale (with 5 being normal), is now only two and is expected to bottom out soon. At that point, even a common cold would be dangerous to her as she will basically have no immune system. Also, please pray about her transportation back to Oklahoma when the time is right. The cost of medevac is extremely high, but there is one group that has offered to fly her back at cost. However, there are still complications that will need to be worked out.

In Christ,

Pastor Mick
mailto:[email protected]

BIRTHDAY HELP
PS Please help send birthday cards to Esther Joy. She will be five years old on October 26. Please do not wait until that day, the sooner the better. We will take them up every couple of days as they come in. We received a box with cards in it this morning and she will receive them tonight. She is a little girl and likes things that little girls like, but especially ponies and horses.

Mark, has anyone suggested to the pastor or the family that they set up posting on the CaringBridge website that Rob McGrady and his family used for Aaron? It really seemed to tie a lot of far-flung people together for prayer, news and well-wishing.

Thanks, Stormy. To be honest, I had not thought of that, but I guarantee you I will let them know about that great site. Thanks again!

Another update from Esther's dad.

Dear Praying Friends,

I want to start out by conveying my family's appreciation for the great outpouring of love that you have shown toward my Daughter and Family. We have received countless calls, emails, cards and gifts, each one representing prayers of intercession on Esther's behalf. Thank you so very much.

Esther is now in what they call the 'maintenance' part of her first treatment. This is when the negative effects of the Chemotherapy begin to manifest themselves. The doctors expect a dramatic decline in her immune system along with other physical side effects such as losing hair, nausea, and sores in the mouth. Chemotherapy targets the fast replicating cells in the body, so along with the cancer cells; the hair follicles, and the lining of the digestive system are also effected.

As of this morning Esther's white blood count was at a zero which means she has no immune system to speak of. It will most likely take around two weeks for that count to come back to normal. Esther has very little appetite. If this persists she may have to be placed on a feeding tube. We don't want that to happen. She also has the signs of what they call mucictitus, which is where the mouth and digestive track begin to produce mucus that can make her very nauseated. Please pray specifically that her white blood count will rise quickly and that she will regain her appetite and that she will not develop mucictitus.

We will continue to keep you posted on Esther's Condition. God's Grace is very tangible.

In His Mighty Hands,

Adam and Jennifer Travis & Family

Alright Mark, the prayer warriors are praying for the Travis family and Esther. May the power of prayer strenghten them and help them with each passing day and hour.

Mark

I have had a busy past few days and just read the post about little Esther Joy. I would love to have my four year olds at school to make cards to send to her for her birthday - I even have a little girl inmy class that shares the same birthday with her and will also be 5 . I will send a package of cards tomorrow to the address in Tulsa. I hope that will be ok? Thanks for the updates and please keep us posted. I will put them on my prayer chain at my church.
Blessings, Jennie

I got this update on Esther Travis yesterday. I will add updates as I get them. Thanks for praying!

Dear Praying Friends,

Today is Esther's 20th day in the hospital, and Lord willing this
will be the last week she has to stay here in Cleveland. This
morning showed that her white blood cell count was rising, which is
a good sign that she will be allowed to be released in the near
future. The side effects of the chemotherapy are very evident. She
lost all of her hair this last week. We will not have any news of
the effectiveness of her first treatment until we get back home.

Many have asked us if we have any needs and we can honestly say
that our greatest need right now is prayer, not only for Esther,
but for the changes that are going to have to take place in the
lives of our children, family and our deputation. We do have a need
for selling our rv and purchasing a smaller vehicle that I can
complete deputation in.

Once again thank you for the outpouring of love and gifts, and just
like Moses had to restrain the children of Israel from giving as
they brought more supplies than were needed for the building of the
tabernacle, so I have to say, Thank you but we just can't receive
anymore toys or gifts, our cup runneth over! If you do desire to
send a monetary gift or card please contact our home church,

Southeast Baptist Church
1402 S. Memorial Drive
Tulsa, OK
74112

(918) 836-6617


The Lord bless you all, and I will keep you updated.
Sustained By His Mercy and Grace,
Adam and Jennifer Travis

The Travis family will be in my prayers! Keep up with the updates.

Just to let you know - I had my class of four/five year olds make some cards and we sent them to her home church. ONe little girl in my class has the same birthday that Esther Joy has - they both turned 5! I told them about her and this same little girl has a friend that is facing cancer too. She has become Esther Joy's little prayer warrior - not letting us forget to pray for her sevearl times a day!
It is such a privilege to teach in a Christian School where I can do that without being chastised!

Good news on little Esther Travis. She is now back home in Tulsa and the results so far have been encouraging. Here is the letter passed on to me from her parents.

Update on Esther Joy Travis
Dear Praying Friends,

We have wonderful news. After one round of chemo Esther's tumor has shrunk dramatically! This is very encouraging news. She begins her second round of Chemo today. Lord willing the side effects of the chemo will not be as drastic as the first round. Please pray that the cancer will continue to respond to the treatment and that her immune system will remain strong.

Thank you all for your prayer and support. We cannot thank you enough.

In His Loving Hands,

Adam and Jennifer Travis- India

Great news to hear!! Prays that God continues HIS good work and healing.

Mark - many thanks for the update on little Esther Joy Travis. I have my kids at school praying for her, my ladies monthly circle Bible study, my church and family praying for her and her family. That is wonderful news to hear. I will pass this good news on to everyone who is praying for her.
We serve a mighty God!

Have a blessed week.
Jennie

Here is updated information on little Esther Travis. Her folks have a Caringbridge site for her now, so it will be much easier to get the latest updates. Thanks for praying!

Esther Joy Travis website
--------------------------------------------------------
Dear Friends and Family,

I created a CaringBridge site to keep you up to date on Esther Joy
Travis. CaringBridge is a nonprofit organization that helps friends
and families stay connected.

You can visit Esther Joy's CaringBridge site at
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/estherjoy.

If your e-mail program does not allow you to click on the above
link, just copy and paste the address into your web browser's
address (or URL) location.

Please visit our CaringBridge site anytime. You can use the site to
check in on Esther Joy, read the journal entries and send us
messages by signing our guestbook. When you register with
CaringBridge and sign our guestbook, you will automatically receive
e-mail notifications each time our journal is updated. Or, you can
subscribe to receive these notifications even before you sign the
guestbook. (Of course, you can unsubscribe from these e-mail
updates at any time.)

We will have the results from Esther's bone marrow test by the time
we admit her for her third round of Chemo this coming Tuesday.

In His Hand,
Adam & Jennifer Travis - India

isn't it amazing what the power of prayer and loving thoughts can do???the prayers will continue on my end as well

vik