Saturday, November 22, 2014

Taking the Good with the Bad


"And I will do whatever you ask in my Name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.  You my ask me for anything in my Name, and I will do it!" - John 14:13-14

Hallelujah! Praise Jesus! The genetic testing came back negative!!!!  But wait....What does that mean?  Once Charlie and I were told that I had cancer, we immediately got to meet an array of doctors who would help us through this upcoming process.  One of the people that we met was a genetic counselor.  It's her job to find out if my body has developed a few specific types of genetic mutations and she informed us that because of my age it was very possible that I would be a strong candidate to posses the BRCA1, BRCA2, or some other genetic mutation known as Leaf-fro-meanie (That's not how it's spelled, but that's what it sounds like.)
If I were to have tested positive for any of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genetic mutations, which makes up about 15% of breast cancers, my chances for developing breast cancer again in my second breast was extremely high as well as developing cancer in my ovaries at a later date.  If I had tested positive for one of these genetic mutations, we had decided to have a double-mastectomy to help reduce any future cancer re-occurrences.  At a later date, we would more than likely have my ovaries surgically removed as my chances for ovarian cancer would have increased drastically if we tested positive for BRCA1 or BRCA2.  As the oldest of four girls in my family, all of my sisters would have needed to be tested for the genetic mutations, and statistics show that each of them would have had a 50% chance of all carrying the mutation.  I could have also passed this gene to any children Charlie or I may have in the future, and they would be at a high risk for developing cancer as well.


If I had tested positive for the Leaf-fro-meanie genetic mutation, or sometimes known as Li-Fraumeni syndrome (only makes up about .15% of breast cancer), I would have been highly susceptible to developing several different types of cancer in my near future.  This included breast cancer again, bone cancer, cancer in soft tissues, brain tumors, etc.   So we are super happy I did not test positive for the meanie gene. :)  I believe prayers had a major role in determining the outcome of these tests, so thank you to everyone who lifted us up specifically for these tests to come back negative.

Thus far, I felt like I had been trusting God with all of this, but when it came down to it, I doubt I really was.  Praying for God to fully/miraculously heal me didn't seem like that was His plan, so I never really asked for it.  These next couple of months were going to be rough, but for the most part, this whole cancer thing seemed pretty easy to me.  We had caught the cancer early, I was going to have a lumpectomy, miss a week of work, have my eggs harvested, start chemo, and then finish with radiation.  Rough year, but we caught the cancer early; I'm young and healthy, and the cancer hadn't spread anywhere else.  
Tuesday, November 18 I was scheduled to have an MRI and the next day Charlie and I were to meet a second oncologist to get another opinion. It felt as if we were told we had cancer all over again when we sat down to meet with the doctor that morning.  Not only did the new oncologist reveal that my tumor was actually over 5 cm wide based in the MRI results (originally thought to be only 1.6 cm wide) he also told us that he was fairly certain the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes.  Originally diagnosed with Stage 1 cancer and then suddenly a strong candidate for stage 3, one begins to distrust the system that has been leading you through this process.  This new information changed a few things for us.  
Due to the size of the tumor, the surgeon no longer felt she could save my left breast.  A mastectomy was our only option now and due to the size of the tumor, the surgeon was worried that the cancer may have spread to my chest wall as well.  For the first time (Lord's provision here) I was actually scared.  Scared that we may not beat this and that the cancer was going to spread too fast for the chemo to kill all of it.  Luckily this lasted only a minute, and I'm reminded of His goodness and the love of everyone who surrounds me!  Seriously though, I had no idea Charlie and I could feel so loved.  It's still beyond words.  I've tried numerous times to express our gratitude, and I feel as if we have only been able to express a tiny fraction of the gratefulness we are feeling towards a multitude of friends and family members who have gone out of their way to make sure we know we are loved.  

So this is our schedule as of today...it changes all the time so bear with me....

  • Monday, November 24 - Surgery Day!
  • Healing for 2-6 weeks
  • December 3 - Begin egg harvesting in Chicago
  • Late December - Early January - Begin 5-6 months of chemo
  • Radiation to follow after chemo - every day for six weeks. 

 I mean when you practically live in the hospital these days...why not take a selfie...



...or two.

What you can do: 
  • Pray specifically for a full recovery.  No more cancer for the rest of my life after this.
  • Continued prayers for Charlie and I, along with my family.  That we stay positive and upbeat; it will be a long year. 
  • If cooking is your thing and you want to send a meal, Lord knows he did not bless me with this gift, you may sign up here for meals or contact Paula Buxton: http://www.takethemameal.com/meals.php?t=YKKF8549&welcome=1  
Thanks for reading and all of your support. :)



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