On Vacation

I will be out of town until July 7th. 

Enjoy your Forth of July.

God Let Me Know He's There

Scripture of the Day:

Proverbs 3:8 (NLT)

            Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones

February 27, 2012

Tomorrow is the anniversary of my biopsy. As I’ve said before, this is not an anniversary I particularly want to celebrate even though I should. Yesterday, the service at Tabernacle Baptist Church seem to be all about me even though we all know lots of us get the same message for whatever reason. But breast cancer was actually mentioned. I’m not the only one in the congregation that has it. Pastor Baker talked about trusting God and His infinite wisdom and trust that He won’t desert us. One of the hymns was Standing on the Promises of God. This was the first hymn that spoke to me a year ago. What an awesome feeling to know  He was right  there beside me yesterday.

Am I still sad? Yes. Do I feel like celebrating yet?  Not really. But do I feel like I’m in the arms of Jesus and he’s encouraging me? Yes and Amen. Today is the first time in a couple of weeks that I don’t spend a few minutes out in the car crying before I start my day.

There were also things said in the sermon that made me feel right about retiring. I’ve often thought if I’d known then what I know now, I might have picked a different career. Well, I know now that the opportunities are out there and God will put me where He wants me.

I just watched Joel Osteen. It was the same thing – a message for me. It was much the same, except when you think about your problem, look down. It’s under your feet. I liked that phrase. 

June 20, 2014

It's been over 3 years since this time in my life and I still am not thrilled when those anniversaries roll around. But it is neat to read this again and remember what an impact God had in my life then. And He still does. I am never alone and it feels wonderful. 

I have started getting out and exercising at the local gym. I am enjoying that. I'm meeting new friends and working to stay healthy. 

We had cancer insurance that I bought because I used to smoke. I figured I'd get lung cancer. I carried this for almost 20 years before we had to use it. We were discussing policies and whether we should keep them. I am just not secure enough about my recovery to let that one go. My husband, David, was great about it. If it gives me some kind of security, then we keep it. As a cancer patient, I am now uninsurable. I can't get life insurance or elder care insurance or any medical until I've been cancer free for 5 years. I have 2 to go.

April 21, 2016. 
I have had my oncology check up and my breast surgeon check up for April. I will come due again in October. To important things will happen at that time. With my oncologist, I have been given the choice to get off of the Letrozole. I get to choose. I have taken aggressive action with my treatment of my breast cancer. But I'm pretty sure that I will choose to get off of this medication. The side effects are hard to live with. I will have to visit my oncologist once a year forever.  

With my breast surgeon, it should be my last appointment. I will not have to go back there any more. Just look where God has brought me!!

If you are making this journey as I am, may God bless you with His healing touch. I know He loves you.

I'm Their Hero?

Scripture of the Day:

Psalm 107:20 (NLT)

He sent out His word and healed them, snatching them from the door of death.

February 24, 2012

I have a friend that I was close to when we were stationed in Orlando. We’ve kept in touch off an on through the years, but I haven’t heard from her in a while and all the numbers  are disconnected and the emails return.  I miss her and I haven’t been able to tell her about this or find out how her family is doing.

There are so many thing that I don’t understand. People call me there hero. I don’t know why. I just don’t feel like I’ve done something heroic. I’m just surviving. People ask me how I’m doing and my answer is “I’m tired, but it’s all good.”  My friend Brian asked me how I was doing and that was the answer I gave him.  He said that I wouldn’t tell him if there was something wrong.  He was smiling and I took it to mean that I never complain. That’s not really true either. But it was nice of him to say. Emily (my daughter) says I’m fighting this like a trooper. I just don’t feel like it.

June 18, 2014

I still have not found my friend and keep looking. I still miss her. 

People still say I'm their hero and I still don't get it. I didn't have a choice in this matter. Death was not an option, so I did what I HAD to do.  I don't see that as heroic. But if I can be a role model to anyone at all, then I feel good about it.

If you are making this journey as I am, may God bless you with His healing touch. I know He loves you.

Recurrence and Breast Reconstruction

Scripture of the Day:

Psalm 103: 1-5 (NLT)

Let all that I am praise the Lord; with all my whole heart I will praise His name. Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things that He does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things. He renews my youth like the eagle’s.

The following is from a website that concerns recurrences. Sadly some people have to go through the process more than once. The website that I took this from is at the bottom.

Recurrent breast cancer

Recurrent breast cancer means the disease has returned after treatment. Most recurrences appear within the first two or three years after treatment, but breast cancer can recur many years later. This type of breast cancer may come back in the breast, chest wall or in other parts of the body.

Breast cancer that returns locally (i.e., in the area of the surgery) is called a local recurrence. If the disease returns in another part of the body, it is called metastatic breast cancer. Women with recurrent breast cancer will receive treatment based on where the cancer returned.

Recurrent Breast Cancer

The next thing after the mastectomy is choosing a form of reconstruction. I was given 4 choices. The first was to do nothing. 

I had a double mastectomy and for about 5 minutes I considered doing nothing. I hate wearing a bra. This would've solved that problem. 

The next is a prosthesis. 

These things are very spongy and I was surprised. They seemed pretty heavy to me. I hated the thought of readjusting those every time they fell out of place.

The third was implants.

There are two types of these...saline and silicone. I originally wanted the saline. The thought of silicone leaking into my body was an awful thought. But my plastic surgeon, whom I really like, convinced me to use the silicone. He said they would be more natural. Since I can't compare the choices, all I can say is these silicone implants are fine. You can feel that they are not real. So, if these are better, I really can't imagine how fake the saline ones would've looked.

The last is complete breast reconstruction. This I was told would take 12 hours of surgery and they would take material from my stomach and use it to make my  breasts. It involved breaking my ribs, I was told. Twelve hours and broken ribs did not appeal to me so I chose the implants. You can read about reconstruction at the site linked below.

Breast Reconstruction

If you are making this journey as I am, may God bless you with His healing touch. I know He loves you.

Stage IV Breast Cancer

Scripture of the Day:

III John 2: 2

Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

This is the final real stage of breast cancer. In this stage the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. I have known people with stage four that are doing well and I have known one who didn't survive. The following is from a website that I found that explains this stage. There is a link at the end of this post that will take you to this website.

Stage IV breast cancer

Stage IV breast cancer means the cancer has spread elsewhere in the body. The affected areas may include the bones, brain, lungs or liver, and more than one part of the body may be involved.

TNM

At stage IV, TNM designations help describe the extent of the disease. Higher numbers indicate more extensive disease.  Most commonly, stage IV breast cancer is described as:

• T: T1, T2, T3 or T4, depending on the size and/or extent of the primary tumor.
• N1: Cancer has spread to the lymph nodes
• M1: The disease has spread to other sites in the body

Stage IV Breast Cancer

If you are making this journey as I am, may God bless you with His healing touch. I know He loves you.

Stage III Breast Cancer

Scripture of the Day:

Luke 4:40

Now when the sun was setting, all they had sick with divers diseases  brought them unto him, and he laid his hands on them and healed them.

Stage III Breast Cancer

The following I took from a website that found particularly easy to read and understand. The website link is at the end of this post.

Stage III breast cancer is a more advanced form of invasive breast cancer. At this stage, the cancer cells have usually not spread to more distant sites in the body, but they are present in several axillary (underarm) lymph nodes. The tumor may also be quite large at this stage, possibly extending to the chest wall or the skin of the breast.

Types of stage III breast cancer

Stage III breast cancer is divided into three categories:

In stage IIIA breast cancer, one of the following is true:

• No tumor is found in the breast, but cancer is present in axillary lymph nodes that are attached to either other or other structures, or cancer may be found in the lymph nodes near the breast bone, or
• The tumor is 2 cm or smaller. Cancer has spread to axillary lymph nodes that are attached to each other or other structures, or cancer may have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone, or
• The tumor is 2 - 4 cm in size. Cancer has spread to axillary lymph nodes that are attached to each other or to other structures, or cancer may have spread to lymph nodes near the breast bone, or
• The tumor is larger than 5 cm. Cancer has spread to axillary lymph nodes that may be attached to each other or to other structures, or cancer may have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone.

In stage IIIB breast cancer, the tumor may be any size, and the cancer:

• Has spread to the chest wall and/or skin of the breast, and
• May have spread to axillary lymph nodes that may be attached to each other or to other structures, or cancer may have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone.
• Cancer that has spread to the skin of the breast is inflammatory breast cancer.

In stage IIIC breast cancer:

• There may be no sign of cancer in the breast or the tumor may be any size, and may have spread to the chest wall and/or skin of the breast.
• Cancer cells are present in lymph nodes above or below the collarbone
• Cancer cells may have spread to axillary lymph nodes or lymph nodes near the breastbone. \
• Cancer that has spread to the skin of the breast is inflammatory breast cancer.

Stage IIIC breast cancer may be operable or inoperable:

• In operable stage IIIC: cancer is found in 10 or more axillary lymph nodes, or is in lymph nodes below the collarbone, or is in axillary lymph nodes and lymph nodes near the breastbone
• In inoperable stage IIIC: cancer has spread to the lymph nodes above the collarbone

The survival rate for stage IIIA breast cancer may be slightly higher than for stage 3B, and the survival rate for stage IIIB may be slightly higher than for stage IIIC. However all women diagnosed with stage III breast cancer have several promising treatment options.

TNM

At stage III, TNM designations help describe the extent of the disease. Higher numbers indicate more extensive disease. Most commonly, stage III breast cancer is described as:

• T: T1, T2, T3 or T4, depending on the size and/or extent of the primary tumor.
• N1: Cancer has spread to the lymph nodes
• M0: The disease has not spread to other sites in the body

I don't know that I've met anyone with stage III breast cancer. So I can only go by what this link says. But hopefully, it will make things clear to you if you are at this stage.

Stage III Breast Cancer

If you are making this journey as I am, may God bless you with His healing touch. I know He loves you.

Stage II Breast Cancer

Scripture of the Day:

Matthew 8: 16

And when evening was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed devils: and he cast out the spirits with His word; and healed all that were sick.

The following was taken from a website. It describes stage II of breast cancer. I struggle trying to decide if I should capitalize the B and C and give this disease more importance it deserves or make it lower case because I'm trying to make it mean so little. I have known friends with stage II and they are doing well. I just can enough about early detection. The link to this website is at the end.

Stage II breast cancer

Stage II breast cancer indicates a slightly more advanced form of breast cancer. At this stage, the cancer cells have spread beyond the original location and into the surrounding breast tissue, and the tumor is larger than in stage I disease. However, stage II means the cancer has not spread to a distant part of the body.

At stage II, a tumor may be detected during a breast self-exam as a hard lump within the breast. Breast self-exams and routine screening are always important and can often lead to early diagnosis, when the cancer is most treatable.

Types of stage II breast cancer

Stage II is divided into two categories:

At stage IIA, one of the following is true:

There is no tumor within the breast but cancer has spread to the axillary (underarm) lymph nodes, or

The tumor in the breast is 2 cm or smaller and cancer has spread to the axillary lymph nodes, or

The tumor in the breast measures 2 - 5 cm but cancer has not spread to the axillary lymph nodes

At stage IIB, one of the following is true:

The tumor measures 2 - 5 cm and cancer has spread to the axillary lymph nodes, or

The tumor is larger than 5 cm but cancer has not spread to the axillary lymph nodes

The survival rate for stage IIA breast cancer may be slightly higher than for stage IIB. However, all women with stage II breast cancer are considered to have a good prognosis.

TNM

At stage II, TNM designations help describe the extent of the disease. Most commonly, stage II breast cancer is described as:

T: T1, T2, T3 or T4, depending on the size and/or extent of the primary tumor.

N1: Cancer has spread to the lymph nodes

M0: The disease has not spread to other sites in the body

Stage II Breast Cancer

If you are making this journey as I am, may God bless you with His healing touch. I know He loves you.