Why I'm not returning to Kanakuk this summer.

Two weeks before I left to work for third term staff at k2, my family was hit with some news. They found cancer in my dad's lung. One week before I left, we found out it had metastasized onto both his hip and his brain.

I have always known that cancer was bad. However I learned something new about cancer when my dad was diagnosed. You never get rid of stage four cancer. My dad has been, unknowingly, battling stage four lung cancer for about two years (or so the doctors assume). Over this January while I was at home, my dad had a bunch of doctors appointments. Since I was going to be returning to school, my parents wanted to make sure that I knew everything that was going on. The first thing they told me was that the disease was only going to go downhill from here. At this point, the cancer is only going to get more aggressive. After the first round of tests, we found out that the cancer had spread through different parts of his body. However, right before I left to go back to school we found out that the lesions in his brain had gone down significantly, which is such good news. So we're trying radiation on his hip to at least get rid of it there since its interfering with his ability to walk. And he's trying a new type of chemo, since they suggest switching that up in order to better fight the cancer.

Time with my family has become first priority. It's hard enough as it is to leave from home every time I come back up to school. I'm not going to give up my summer when I could be spending time with my dad. They also asked me to stay home. So as much as I want to work at Kamp, it just wouldn't be a good summer to do that. I'm not trying to make anybody feel bad. I just don't appreciate constantly being asked why I'm not returning to kamp.

So, how to pray for me (if that's your thing). Personally, I don't want prayers of miraculous healing for my dad. More likely than not he's going to die of lung cancer. And as harsh as that may sound, I just have to come to terms with my reality. If I could ask for prayer, it would be that I can accept God's will, no matter what that may be. He has a plan, and I intend on holding onto that plan.

Sorry if this came out as really cold and distant, it's just the easiest way to get things out there.