Post-Surgery Results and Scheduled Chemo Treatment

It has been about two and a half weeks since our last post. Since then there has been quite a summation of follow up appointments and results. Much of it is very medical, so I will let Mama explain it all in her words (since she understands it better than I do!).

I’m all healed up from surgery and feel great! Pathology reports came back with the best outcome – Praise the Lord! No cancer was found in the lymph nodes. They got the entire tumor with good margins all around.

 This past Monday (Oct. 15^th) was another long day at the hospital. We (Pete and I) started with a post-op appointment with the surgeon. Then we had a chemo consult with the oncology nurse. For those of you who want to know, I start Chemotherapy on Oct. 31^st. My first 4 rounds will be every 2 weeks (totaling 8 weeks-) of Adriamycin and Cytoxan. (Those are the big guns!) I then will have a 3 week break before I start the next round. If all goes as scheduled, I will have a break over Christmas/New Year’s – another “Praise the Lord”! When Chemo starts again in January, I will have once a week treatments for 12 weeks (3 more months) and be given Taxal. This drug is much easier to tolerate, although it does cause fatigue. Then there is another short break before radiation begins. Right now, radiation is scheduled every day for 7 weeks. As you can see it is a long 7 months to go.

The Lord brought encouragement to my heart Wednesday night when I ran into a breast cancer survivor at church. She’s been cancer-free for 2 years. She was sharing how the fog sets in and treatment can feel like it will never end. She now looks back at it all, and it wasn’t so bad. Jesus was near walking her through it, and it’s now a testimony of His grace and Presence with her…

 After the Chemo consult, I had a CT-scan. Those results are back and there is nothing suspicious in the liver or lungs. God keeps giving me reasons to rejoice! J After my CT-scan, we headed to cardiology and I had an echo-cardiogram done on my heart. For those of you who do not know what that is, it is an in-depth ultrasound of the heart. The “echo-techs”(that is what they are called!) were the most adorable young gals (like 24 years old) and they were having so much fun with their new imaging screen they took 75 minutes of playing around watching every chamber and valve of the heart from a number of different angles. They can even track rate and direction of blood flow. As the patient, you get to lie there and just watch your heart do its work. It’s fascinating! Those heart-results are not in yet, but this was just a base-line test to track my heart now and make sure it does not get damaged with the Chemo drugs.

 Pete was the faithful guy that he always is and was by my side for the whole day – what a trooper! I love him so much and am so thankful he’s there smiling at me and making jokes “on the fly” to make me laugh.

Pete flew the next day to Asia to do his training work over there. He returns on Oct. 30^th, so he will be with me for my 1^st Chemo treatment. My Mom flies back out to visit on Friday, Oct. 26^th so she will be here as well. I am so blessed to be surrounded by my dear family and friends as I proceed down this road. They brighten my path along the way.

The last few mornings, while spending time with God in His word, I’ve been pondering Romans 4 and 5. Particularly the following verses:

 Rom. 4:17b, 20 –
“…the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were. He (referring to Abraham) did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what He had promised.”

 Rom. 5:2-5 –
“…we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because WE KNOW that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” (NIV)

 God’s Word brings so much life, encouragement and counsel when facing tough trials. He always strengthens and builds our hope and faith to believe Him and trust Him. He knows what He’s doing! God waited until Abraham was too old and powerless in himself to produce an heir. Not only that, his wife Sarah was 90 years old and “her womb was dead”. (5:19) God wanted it known that He is never powerless! He is a wonder-working, miracle-making, healing-handling God. He loves to show up and do what no man can do. It gives Him great pleasure and glory!!

 He’s up to something in my life as I face cancer. He is my Strength, my Joy and my Song.

 “He walks with me, and He talks with me, and He tells me I am His own. And the joy we share as we tarry here, none other has ever known…” (“The Garden” Hymn)