Sam Conway

Dear Friends,

I am sorry it has been so long since you have heard from us!! I have wanted to sit down and write you so many times over the past few weeks, but for one reason or another, it just didn’t happen!

As you know, we packed up our household in Oak Brook, IL and moved back to Cornelius, NC a few weeks ago. Just two days before we left, as Sam was packing the garage, he noticed a pain in his back that shot down his left leg. He felt like all the packing had aggravated a disc, which was causing the pain. By the time we drove to NC and began unpacking on this end, it became apparent it was more than we had previously thought. The pain became very intense and walking became an enormous effort for Sam.

An MRI revealed that the pain was a result of one of the metastasis tumors on his spine pressing on a nerve. The only alternative was to receive 14 radiation treatments to try to shrink the tumor, thus relieving the pressure on the nerve. He just completed his treatments this past Friday, and they are hoping to see improvement over the next two weeks. He is still experiencing a lot of pain in his leg and is walking short distances v-e-r-y slowly (and carefully) with a cane. Other than the pain in his lower back and leg, he feels good and does not have any of the ‘typical’ lung cancer symptoms at all! (A bone scan taken last week does not show any new growth. . . a huge praise.)

Once again, this cancer journey has taken a ‘different turn’ for us. We found ourselves sitting in our house with wall-to-wall boxes and Sam in horrific pain, unable to help at any level with any of the unpacking! Our days have been filled with my trying to get boxes unpacked and bring some sort of ‘normal home life’ set up, DAILY trips for the radiation treatments, trying to make meals that someone who is nauseated and has no appetite would find appealing, and just the overall demands of getting re-established in a new location. It has been overwhelming, stressful, and even depressing at times!! J We have been stretched in every direction . . .and yet . . . we still find ‘His mercies are new every morning’!!

Sam was so excited about working in his brother’s business; however, due to the pain and treatments, he has not been able to work. (Another ‘faith-stretcher’!!). We KNOW that we are exactly where God wants us right now, and obviously, not a day early!! It has been a blessing for us to see Kevin almost everyday.

We truly appreciate your prayers for us . . . we need them! We are walking by faith & trusting God . . . wanting to learn all that He has to teach us on this journey. Thank you for standing in the gap for us . . . some days are long and hard . . . just knowing that you are walking along side of us continues to be such an encouragement and means more than you’ll ever know!!!

Thank you again for taking this journey with us and trusting with us!

In His love,
Ann

New home number: 704 892-8779
Sam’s cell number: 630 364-6370 (please feel free to call & encourage him!)

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Dear Friends,

Can you believe it is July already?   We can hardly believe that almost twelve weeks have passed since we heard those fateful words:  “you have lung cancer’.   What an ‘interesting’ twelve weeks we have experienced!

First and foremost, we are overwhelmed with thankful hearts for each of you that have taken the time to call, email, or write.   What an encouragement and blessing that has been for us.   And, there have been many days when your words have come at the exact, precise moment that we needed a little ‘nudge’ . . . and God used your words to remind us that HE IS in control!

Sam is feeing great!   He continues to work everyday and has maintained his same schedule since before the diagnosis!   My biggest problem is trying to slow him down to rest more!   He does experience some fatigue in the evenings, however, they have told us to expect this as a side-effect from two of the medications he is taking.   Every two weeks he flies to the Burzynski Clinic in Houston, TX to receive an infusion treatment.

We are scheduled to be in Dallas and Houston the week of July 10th.   At that time he will have all new scans taken and, hopefully, we will have results within a week, showing the response of all of the treatments.   Sam has been so faithful to the ‘every-two-hour’ medications, his special/limited diet, various supplements, and of course, the various targeted cancer therapy drugs they are giving.    Please continue to pray with us as we are trusting God for a great report!

Next week we are flying to Sacramento, CA, where we will both be speaking at a Home School conference for the Institute here.   Sam will be teaching on finance and is quite excited about sharing again.   We had cancelled previous engagements due to the treatments, but he is eager to get back out there sharing God’s ways of handling money!

Thank you once again for reaching out to us.   You have blessed our lives in ways we never dreamed possible.  We continue to walk in ‘blind faith’ regarding our future right now  . . . living in total abandonment to God . . . not such a bad place to be!!  Thank you again for your prayers  . . .that means more than anything to us right now!

Love in Christ,

Sam & Ann

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Dear friends,

Once again, we thank you for standing with us!! How humbling, yet how blessed we are to be on the receiving end of your love, concerns & prayers!! We are constantly amazed at how God uses the Body of Christ to show Himself so faithful to us right now!

Sam will be flying to Houston next Tuesday, (June 6), to receive his second infusion treatment at the Burzynski Clinic. He will stay overnight, as they do not allow you to fly on the day of the treatment. We are so thankful, once again, for our friends there who have opened their home during these treatments . . . a great financial blessing!

Sam has been working at the IBLP office everyday and is feeling great. His rash is getting better each day and he has NO side effects of any kind from the medications he is on. The main problem I have with Sam, is trying to get him to slow-down a little! The medications every-two-hours is the only ‘reminder’ he has right now that there is anything at all wrong in his body. He is a real trooper with his new ‘eating plan’, which is that 80% of his daily intake be RAW fruits and vegetables, and NO white flour, sugar, caffeine, etc..

Thank you again for interceding on our behalf. We are continuing to trust God for HIS PERFECT PLAN in this journey. Sam takes each medication ‘IN JESUS NAME” . . . . knowing that “He which has begun a good thing in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6). It is our desire to honor and glorify God with whatever tools He places into our hands.

In His love,
Sam & Ann

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Greetings!!
Thank you once again for your prayer support! We have truly experienced supernatural peace . . . in the midst of circumstances that are totally out of our control . . . we are experiencing PEACE!!

As we walked into the Burzynski Clinic in Houston three weeks ago, I looked at Sam and asked him what he was ‘feeling’ at that moment . . . he replied: “An overwhelming sense of God’s Peace”. I had the exact same ‘feeling’! And, we experienced it every day through all of the treatments! We know it is the power of prayer, and we thank you for interceding for us.

They immediately started Sam on a gene therapy treatment program which was designed for his specific cancer, based on MANY tests. We stayed in Houston for 16 days, where Sam was monitored during daily treatments. We will continue this treatment regime for 90 days, (which consists of Sam taking medication in the form of pills and liquid every TWO hours!!). He will be flying to Houston every two weeks for an infusion treatment.
After that time, he will have all of the scans repeated and they will evaluate his progress, and future treatment will be determined based on the results. Sam is feeling great and the only side effects so far are an acne-like-rash.

Right now we are in a ‘wait and see’ time. A time that God is teaching us more about trust, faith and His incredible, supernatural peace. One thing that has ministered to us in a very special way, is the book by Larry Burkett, “Nothing to Fear . . . The Key to Cancer Survival” It has almost felt like Larry left us a manual to follow! One quote I love:
“….the circumstances don’t have to be reasonable, or even understandable, for us to have God’s peace. You don’t have to have a cure or be assured that you’ll live for a long time in order to have peace from God. If that were true, the peace wouldn’t have to come from God; it would simply come as a result of good circumstances.” Right now, our circumstances are anything but ‘good’ . . . and yet . . . we have PEACE!! God is good!

Thank you again for standing with us. We are humbled by your love for us, and cannot begin to express what your friendship, love and prayers mean to us! Experiencing the Body of Christ in such a powerful way has given us so much hope and encouragement. Thank you again for being willing to stand in the gap for us! We are praying for you too!

In His Love,
Sam & Ann

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Dear Friends,

Thank you so very much for your calls, cards, encouraging words . . . and most of all for your prayers for us at this time.    We have truly felt your prayers!  This has been quite a journey and yet, we are experiencing wonderful peace in the midst of the ‘ups & downs’ of each day.

After our trips to Dallas and Charlotte, where we were consulting with several wonderful Oncologists, and much prayer regarding treatment, we are flying to Houston this afternoon to begin treatment at the Burzynski Clinic.

Surgery for Sam is out of the question, due to the location of the cancer.   We have looked into many other options, however, he is also not a candidate for any of them for the same reason.   We have extensively researched the Burzynski Clinic, and have total peace that this is God’s direction for us right now. 

The treatment is considered ‘alternative’, however, is FDA approved for trials at this clinic.   We will meet with the doctor’s tomorrow morning, (Wednesday), at 8:00 AM.   At that time they will design a treatment plan for him.    The treatment is given by IV’s usually and is given three times daily for approximately two to four weeks, until it is regulated.   There are virtually no side effects.  God has opened the door for us to stay with some friends in the Houston area . . . a HUGE blessing for us!!    

Please continue to hold us up in your prayers as we begin a new phase of this journey.   We know that God is directing our steps and is complete control of our future.   Thank you once again for holding us up in prayer during this time . . . there are no words that are adequate to tell you what that means to us.

Praising God for each of you!

Sam & Ann  

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The first thing I want to say is, ‘Thank you for being our friends’!! I have struggled with writing this, and would prefer to write or call each of you individually, however, our world is so totally ‘upside down’ right now, that time is of essence, and it would be impossible to do that. I do look forward to the time that we can talk or visit with you one-on-one!! Thanks for understanding about this ‘blanket letter’. It is really important to us that you have some idea of what is going on in our lives right now & will hold us up in prayer.

April 5th, just two short weeks ago tomorrow, our lives changed forever! We were so excited about attending Kevin’s Busch race in Dallas, TX. This would be the first NASCAR race I have attended since Christen’s home going!

We had made arrangements to meet with friends in Dallas to go out to lunch the day we arrived. Our friend, Billy Boring, is a physician in Dallas with a large practice, and a Godly man who serves on the board of the ministry where we serve, (IBLP). While eating lunch, he heard Sam cough a couple of times & said he didn’t like the sound of it, so after lunch we would swing by his office & take a chest X-Ray, which we did.

The minute he walked into the room with the X-ray, I knew there was something drastically ‘wrong’. His demeanor had changed & he had such compassion, there were tears in his eyes. He saw a pretty “significant’ growth and immediately started making calls to other physicians.

Within 24 hours, Sam had a complete CT scan, sonogram, and was scheduled for a Brohchoscopy with a Pulmonary Specialist. Over the course of the next week, God open door after door for appointments, CT & PET scans, tests, and incredible intervention at every turn. Dr. Boring said that in his entire career he had never had anything go this fast, or see doors literally ‘fly open’ at every turn!! We were having scans that should have taken four weeks to get an appointment and doctors with a three-month waiting list!

On April 13th, we met with the Pulmonary Specialist, who walked into the room and said he was ‘very sorry that he had sad and serious news’. The diagnosis was that Sam has Bronchogenic carcinoma, (lung cancer), isolated to the upper left lung and does involve two Lymph nodes. It is Stage 3A, (not in any other part of the body), large cell.

We flew home to Chicago that afternoon. Kevin flew up and spent his birthday, (April 15th), and Easter with us, and we had a great weekend together!

As you can imagine, since last Thursday we have been on the research journey! We fly back to Dallas this Thursday to meet with the Oncologist who will tell us more and lay out a ‘plan of action/treatment’.

From there, we are flying to Charlotte, NC. The most exciting part of this coming weekend, is to be back at our ‘home church’, Central Church, where the Elders will be anointing Sam with oil and praying for him. (James 5:14). God has also opened a door to see a wonderful Oncologist in Charlotte, who will meet with us, look over all of Sam’s records, and give us his opinion as well. This doctor, although not taking any new patients, has agreed to see us . . .God opened this door through friends . . . we are so grateful & thankful! After we have more information, we will understand a little more and are seeking GOD for HIS DIRECTION for our plan of action.

After all we have been through, after sharing all the “Trusting God’ messages, we KNOW God IS faithful & trustworthy, but our world has fallen apart. Life as we have known it is TOTALLY different! I will be the FIRST to NOT wear a mask, or pretend: this is painful, horrible & anxiety-ridden for me, (Ann), and HARD!!!! I have been ‘wrestling’ with God, and Sam seems to be taking everything so much better than I have!! To be totally honest, I am still struggling with understanding the how & why’s . . . .something I’ve already learned we don’t have to know, but sometimes struggle with! I go back to Christen’s journals where she wrote: “Trust does not require understanding . . . truly trusting will not need knowledge, but ACTION”.

I know this is long, but one more side note: I was so emotionally ’stressed’ that the thought of watching Kevin race, (in Dallas), was almost more than I could bear that weekend. I KNOW that God knew that & although I was truly sorry for Sam & Kevin, he did not race Saturday!! As he was sitting on ‘the line’ ready to go out for practice Thursday, NASCAR came & told them he would not be able to go out on the track!! (This was due to a huge ‘glitch’ in the sale of the team & the previous owner ‘pulled the number’ just minutes before practice!) It looks like Kevin will be sitting out several races until all the legal ramifications of this are settled! God NEVER misses any details!

Will you hold us up in prayer? We want to learn all that God has to teach us through this journey. We will not allow Cancer to defeat us . . . .we’ve learned that everything passes through God’s Hands . . . and, while easier to say than practice, we ARE trusting God, as we KNOW HE IS ABLE!!!!!!!

We love each of you & you have touched our lives in some way! Feel free to call or write . . . . Sam has been so blessed by those he has heard from & is so amazed at how much you-all care!! He keeps saying he is so humbled by people reaching out to him! Sam is as high-energy as EVER and has NO other symptoms AT ALL!!!!! This is a GOOD sign!!!! How thankful we belong to God & can lay all of this at his feet!! I will try to update you as we move forward in this journey. You are an important part of our lives!!

Love in Jesus,
Sam & Ann

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