5/24/06

May 24
Dear friends,

I got a call at 5:15 this evening from my surgeon and she started off by asking where I was & if I could sit down. The biopsy I had taken yesterday under my left arm was positive for lobular cancer. It is a matastisis of my original breast cancer. She told me I am looking at more surgery very soon under my arm, scans, chemo, radiation, etc. She told me how sorry she is. I got a call from my oncologist a few minutes later telling me the same thing and asking me to come see him ASAP and how sorry he is. A recurrence is never good news and the fighting this time will have to be harder.

We know I have cysts on both ovaries- one of which is 5-6 cm's and "complex" (blood supply and solid). My abdomen hasn't been feeling right, and I have been to the doctor for that recently. I am very sore from yesterday's small surgery (not a surprise as there are lots of nerves under there), which I honestly thought was just a routine procedure to rule out cancer- fully expecting it to be clear. I have had that done before and it was nothing. I really thought that it is always nothing. So I am in shock. Some tears, but feeling secure in God's loving arms of comfort and protection. I am overwhelmed with His love and that He is right here with us. Allison gets home next Wednesday. We just told her and Laura over the phone. Jesse and Jenni are quiet and went to Tuesday night church.

We are scheduled to leave at 6:30 a.m. for Benton, PA. Greg is being inducted into his high school hall of fame on Saturday night. Laura is going to meet us there on Friday and fly home Sunday also. I am actually glad for the trip as I can make calls on my cell phone to some of my doctors who do alternative treatments and get information before seeing the oncologist on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. The surgery schedulers are going to call me and I will call tomorrow to get the scans scheduled- first I should think, so we know what we are dealing with. So pray that I will get to talk to some key people in the next few days about treatment options. I am glad I have time to do that.

Here is a God-thing...I was in the grocery store parking lot when the surgeon called, and inside when the oncologist called a few minutes later. Jenni and Jesse were filling a cart and I was wandering around by myself in a daze thinking, "I wonder if anyone can tell that I am in shock and just got terrible news?" Then I decided that I needed Shredded Wheat. I walked down the cereal isle and at the end was my friend and fellow breast cancer support group member, Judy- standing by the Shredded Wheat. Even more strange than that was the fact that I had just stopped to talk to her at her desk at church today for who knows what reason. I don't think that I have done that more than once or twice ever in the last several years. Anyway there she was, just after I heard this news. Greg was walking home, so I couldn't even call him. Anyway, Judy was God's gift to me at that moment. She told me when I was checking out all the stuff Jenni and Jesse had filled the cart with, that she NEVER shops at that grocery store, and didn't know why she did today. Now we know why.

God is powerful and mighty, He knows all and He loves me and my family. He knows the number of all of our days. He is a comfort and help in times of trouble. I love and trust Him implicitly. Oh, and He is GOOD! He is very, very good!

Thanks for praying for me. I will keep you posted.
Nancy