Carman Is Counting Down to Chemo

By Kim Jones Oct 19, 2013 11:25 PM EDT

(Photo : carman.org)
Carman

In what he is calling "Ground Zero Weekend," popular Christian singer Carman is now counting down to the beginning of his chemotherapy. After receiving growth injections that forced his body to produce more stem cells, doctors harvested 28 million of them over a three day period. The stem cells replace the "good" cells that chemo kills off during treatment. While it may sound easy enough, the process itself is quite complex and painful.

According to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, the High-Dose Chemotherapy and Stem Cell Transplantation protocol involves giving multiple myeloma patients high doses of chemotherapy in order to destroy more myeloma cells than would be possible with conventional (standard dose) chemotherapy. The high doses also destroy important cells in the bone marrow, called hematopoietic stem cells, which are responsible for the production of blood cells that become either red blood cells (which carry energy-giving oxygen from the lungs to the entire body), white blood cells (which are immune cells that play an important role in fighting bacteria and viruses that cause infection), or platelets (which help blood to clot when bleeding occurs), so the lost stem cells must be replaced by transplantation.

Carman called the time he was receiving the growth injections, "the most painful thing ever," adding, "My body feels like I have broken ribs from head to toe. My joints are in horrible pain too because the sockets are enlarged so I can barely walk." But he is still thanking God for the chance to beat his cancer and continue his ministry. He is even keeping a good sense of humor about his impending hair loss (a common side effect of chemotherapy). He shared, "So far its been a struggle keeping it looking decent. I've had two hair cuts already and the next one won't be as much a hair cut as it'll be a shoeshine."

As he prepares to enter his 8th week of intensive cancer treatment, he is asking fans to partner with him for the Carman Live Across America Project to take his music ministry into every major and minor city hungry for the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can help him make his goal of standing on 100 stages across America sharing the Gospel next year with donations of as little as $10 or as much as $5000.