Thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, gifts, meals, flowers, cards, letters, emails and texts. We are truly feeling overwhelmed by the love and support of you all. It really has made a difference. As you know, Lori had a mastectomy last week on 2/18. She has recovered from that surgery well with no complications. She took two Rx pain pills at home and the rest of the time took Advil and Tylenol. She is a light weight when it comes to narcotics. Today the surgeon removed her drains and everything looks good. Well, not good, she’s still very black and blue but getting better.
As we texted after the surgery, we were sad that the Sentinel lymph node was positive for cancer. We have since learned from the final pathology report that she was positive for 7 out of 22 lymph nodes sampled. This was some additional bad news. Less than 4 nodes are prognostically better. It means she is Stage 3A, otherwise known as locally advanced breast cancer. The next step in staging is to get a PET scan which involves injecting radio-labeled glucose molecules into the blood stream and scanning the entire body. Cancer cells use glucose faster than normal cells and so “light up” with the radio-labeled glucose. If she has other areas of her body that “light up” on the scan, it means the cancer cells have spread or metastasized beyond the breast and she would be Stage 4, the last stage. We are fervently praying and are asking all of you to continue to hold us up in prayer that the PET scan would be negative.
As bad as this all sounds, there is still real hope in the treatment that is available. Even Stage 4 breast cancer can be very treatable. If she is stage 4, it has to be very early. She has absolutely no symptoms to suggest any spread elsewhere. She will have to endure aggressive chemotherapy and radiation therapy probably starting the beginning of April. Hitting the cancer HARD initially will give her the best chance of knocking it into remission. Unfortunately, she will probably lose her hair and have other side effects to deal with. After that, she will take Tamoxifen which takes advantage of the Estrogen and Progesterone receptors on the cancer cells and this will starve them of the hormones they need to grow. Lori’s surgeon said today that she really believes Lori will live to be 110 years old and die of something else.
Honestly, never in our wildest dreams did we think, 2 month ago, that we’d be where we are right now. That’s how quickly our lives have changed. Almost every step along the way has been a series of disappointments. No one who has been involved in Lori’s case ever thought that it would be this advanced. But, that is the nature of Lobular Breast Cancer. It grows undetected longer than Ductal breast cancer. And yet, we still see God in this. He is doing something in each of our lives and the lives of those around us. One thing for sure is that we are being forced to Trust Him like never before. We are ready for Stage 4 if that is God’s Will. And if you think about it, how many of us are really in control of our lives anyway? None of us has a “right” to a trouble free life. The Bible says in Matthew 5:45 that God sends the sun and the rain on the just and the unjust alike. We have had plenty of Sun in our lives. Right now, it’s Raining. We continue to believe that Good will come out of this. Lori and I both know in the depths our being that this life is not all that there is. We Love you all and are so thankful for your continued concern and prayers.
God Bless, John and Lori
Lori’s Bible verse promise: “Do not be afraid, stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today….The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Exodus 14:13,14
PS: Some have been asking me how I'm getting through this journey. Your prayers. God's Word. Love being poured out from family and friends. My taking time alone with God: talking to Him; God speaking to me. John and I have been praying and doing devotions together every morning and night. We're using a few books by Sarah Young that you may like to check out: "Jesus Calling" and at night, "Jesus Today". (You can get them through Amazon - we picked them up at our local Costco!) The devotions are based entirely on scripture. We read from "Jesus Calling" this morning : February 27 ---"KEEP YOUR EYES ON ME! Waves of adversity are washing over you, and you feel tempted to give up. As your circumstances consume more and more of your attention, you are losing sight of Me. Yet "I am with you always, holding you by your right hand." I am fully aware of your situation, "and I will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear." Your gravest danger is worrying about tomorrow. If you try to carry tomorrow's burdens today, you will stagger under the load and eventually fall flat. You must discipline yourself to live within the boundaries of today. It is in the present moment that I walk close to you, helping you carry your burdens. Keep your focus on My Presence in the present." Psalm 73:23 I Corinthians 10:13
