I went to see plastic surgeon #2 today, Ron and I both liked him but are now torn as to which one to pick. I had hoped it would be pretty evident which one I should go with but there are pros and cons to both. They are both highly recommended, so perhaps it is one of those situations where either choice is a good one. I will spend the weekend praying and may call their offices on Monday to ask a few more questions before deciding. I would appreciate your prayer for wisdom and discernment and I will let you know which one (as Karyn says) makes the cut! =)
PS. thanks to those who prayed that I would feel better today...I did. =)
Friday, June 27, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
AMAZING I just got the MRI and PET Scan results!!
GREAT news just came in from the oncologist! Both the MRI and PET showed cancer in the left breast, which we knew, and in a lymph node on the left side, BUT the right breast is clear as are those lymph nodes. The super good news is that there is NO cancer anywhere else in my body!!! Praise the Lord!!! I am/we are so relieved. Dr. Sherman's words to me were, "Congratulations, we are going for a cure!"
Thank you SOOO much for your prayer, we have scored a victory today.
Thank you SOOO much for your prayer, we have scored a victory today.
The tumor is hormone senstive
The oncologist's office called and told me that the tumor is "hormone sensitive." (Notice I am intentionally not saying, "my tumor" or "my cancer" as this does not belong to me and is an unwelcome intruder!) They said this was "good" because they can treat it, so I think it means that I will have to be on additional medicine for several years after the chemo and everything is finished, but I am not positive. I am still learning about all of this stuff. Plus...I am still believing for healing!
They also tested the tumor to see if it is HER/2 receptor positive, they said they need to run another test because the first one was inconclusive. So we are still waiting on that answer.
They also tested the tumor to see if it is HER/2 receptor positive, they said they need to run another test because the first one was inconclusive. So we are still waiting on that answer.
PET Scan is behind me
Okay, I don't like PET Scans. Besides injecting me with a radioactive isotope, ( I am half expecting to glow in the dark and Ron got near me and started making Geiger counter noises, which was pretty funny really), I had to go in fasting and then they made me drink this vile glucose drink that made me nauseous. I sat in a chair for an hour and had to be as still as possible...hellooo, after drinking sugar...while the sugar coated radioactive isotope spread out through my body. Isn't that a comforting thought! Then I went into a machine and had to be still for another 30 minutes. By then, my stomach was not happy at all with all that glucose on an empty stomach so all I could think was, "I hope I don't hurl on this expensive machine!" I prayed and tried to focus on the Lord, although not as successfully as yesterday during the MRI I'm afraid.
I'm not feeling very well today, really tired from all of the tests and still feeling kind of queasy from the glucose drink this morning. Appreciate your prayer for extra strength and grace today, thank you so much. with love, Leslyn
I'm not feeling very well today, really tired from all of the tests and still feeling kind of queasy from the glucose drink this morning. Appreciate your prayer for extra strength and grace today, thank you so much. with love, Leslyn
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Blessing and Cursing
My friend, Mary Lindgren, reminded me that while I am praying for the cancer cells to be cursed and die that I need to remember to also pray that the healthy cells in my body would be blessed, protected and live. I thought that was such a great reminder I wanted to remind you to pray that too. Likewise, when we pray to bind up the enemy and to bind up this disease it is important to remember to loose life, health and wholeness!
Thanks again for fighting with me and for me for LIFE!
Thanks again for fighting with me and for me for LIFE!
Just got back from the MRI
One more test down, hurray. I just got back from having a breast MRI, that was a new experience...I think I will spare you the details.
Good thing I am not at all claustrophobic, no wonder they have to sedate some people. One hour in a very noisy small tube on my stomach with arms stretched above my head is quite an experience! I just prayed and asked the Lord to take me away with Him and I had a lovely series of visions of heaven...that was the great part. So grateful to have Jesus to walk with me through this, He is kind and loving. Thank you for praying for me.
PET Scan tomorrow...8:30 AM!
Good thing I am not at all claustrophobic, no wonder they have to sedate some people. One hour in a very noisy small tube on my stomach with arms stretched above my head is quite an experience! I just prayed and asked the Lord to take me away with Him and I had a lovely series of visions of heaven...that was the great part. So grateful to have Jesus to walk with me through this, He is kind and loving. Thank you for praying for me.
PET Scan tomorrow...8:30 AM!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
A Journey with Jesus
Well, this has certainly been a surprise...but thankfully, not to the Lord. As many of you know, I have been sick for the past 8 months and have been having tests done to try to find out what was causing me to run a fever along with extreme fatigue and general body aches. Basically, I have felt like I have had a really bad case of the flu for 8 months.
A little while back I had noticed that I had a little lump in my left breast. (I do sincerely apologize to the men reading this blog, normally I do not discuss this part of my anatomy but to tell my story I cannot avoid it.) Though I was so tired of medical tests, I thought I'd better just deal with this and went in to have it checked only to find out that the nurse practitioner found a couple more spots that she wanted to get checked out too. (By the way, if you need a good OB/GYN, I really love Dr. Rosemary Delgado in Walnut Creek.)
To make a long story short, God moved on my behalf and things began to happen at lightening speed. Within a week I had the biopsies done, seven to be precise!, had gotten the results back, got in to see the top breast cancer surgeons in the area who I REALLY like and saw one of the top oncologists in our area as well. It has been a bit of a whirlwind.
Questions I have been asked:
* Does the breast cancer explain the fevers I have been running? We don't know for sure. I think most doctors would say, "no," but I have read a medical journal article saying that any solid malignant tumor can cause fever, though it would be very rare for breast cancer. I feel like it is not out of the realm of possibility that my body could have been trying to warn me that something was wrong. You'll notice on the Calendar section that I have a PET Scan coming up on Thursday, they will be ruling out malignancies else where in my body, especially since I am still running a temperature.
*What kind of cancer do I have? The cancer is invasive, ductile carcinoma, meaning it has moved outside of the ducts in my breast in a couple of places. It has been graded as aggressive. They won't be able to "stage" it until after I have surgery.
*When will I have surgery? Sometime after July 14 when my surgeon gets back from vacation. At first I was discouraged by that news, but then I realized this just gives us more time to pray for healing!
*What kind of surgery am I having and will I have chemotherapy? I am having a double mastectomy followed by chemo. I won't know details about the chemo or if I need radiation as well until after the surgery. Also, we don't know yet if the lymph glands are involved. They will biopsy them during surgery.
My stance is to be aggressive in my response both through prayer as well as medically. This intruder must go! I am committed to LIFE, health and healing and to whatever is necessary to obtain those goals.
Finally, most of my blogs will not be this long. In the future some of them may come from Ron or my daughters depending on how I am feeling. I wanted to get you caught up on what has been going on though, so thus the longish entry. I will keep the Calendar up to date as much as possible and would appreciate your prayer for those appointments that are listed there. Any encouraging words, prayers or Scriptures you would like to share can be added as comments on either the Post-a-prayer or Guest Book. I would really love to hear from you and know that I will need your encouragement as I walk along this journey with Jesus.
So grateful for your support in this fight,
Leslyn
A little while back I had noticed that I had a little lump in my left breast. (I do sincerely apologize to the men reading this blog, normally I do not discuss this part of my anatomy but to tell my story I cannot avoid it.) Though I was so tired of medical tests, I thought I'd better just deal with this and went in to have it checked only to find out that the nurse practitioner found a couple more spots that she wanted to get checked out too. (By the way, if you need a good OB/GYN, I really love Dr. Rosemary Delgado in Walnut Creek.)
To make a long story short, God moved on my behalf and things began to happen at lightening speed. Within a week I had the biopsies done, seven to be precise!, had gotten the results back, got in to see the top breast cancer surgeons in the area who I REALLY like and saw one of the top oncologists in our area as well. It has been a bit of a whirlwind.
Questions I have been asked:
* Does the breast cancer explain the fevers I have been running? We don't know for sure. I think most doctors would say, "no," but I have read a medical journal article saying that any solid malignant tumor can cause fever, though it would be very rare for breast cancer. I feel like it is not out of the realm of possibility that my body could have been trying to warn me that something was wrong. You'll notice on the Calendar section that I have a PET Scan coming up on Thursday, they will be ruling out malignancies else where in my body, especially since I am still running a temperature.
*What kind of cancer do I have? The cancer is invasive, ductile carcinoma, meaning it has moved outside of the ducts in my breast in a couple of places. It has been graded as aggressive. They won't be able to "stage" it until after I have surgery.
*When will I have surgery? Sometime after July 14 when my surgeon gets back from vacation. At first I was discouraged by that news, but then I realized this just gives us more time to pray for healing!
*What kind of surgery am I having and will I have chemotherapy? I am having a double mastectomy followed by chemo. I won't know details about the chemo or if I need radiation as well until after the surgery. Also, we don't know yet if the lymph glands are involved. They will biopsy them during surgery.
My stance is to be aggressive in my response both through prayer as well as medically. This intruder must go! I am committed to LIFE, health and healing and to whatever is necessary to obtain those goals.
Finally, most of my blogs will not be this long. In the future some of them may come from Ron or my daughters depending on how I am feeling. I wanted to get you caught up on what has been going on though, so thus the longish entry. I will keep the Calendar up to date as much as possible and would appreciate your prayer for those appointments that are listed there. Any encouraging words, prayers or Scriptures you would like to share can be added as comments on either the Post-a-prayer or Guest Book. I would really love to hear from you and know that I will need your encouragement as I walk along this journey with Jesus.
So grateful for your support in this fight,
Leslyn
Post-a-Prayer
If you'd like to write a prayer, please post it as a comment below.
Grateful for you!
Leslyn
Grateful for you!
Leslyn
Guestbook
This is a guestbook where you can sign in. Please leave encouraging messages or Scriptures as a comment below.
Thanks and love,
Leslyn
Thanks and love,
Leslyn
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)