Update for May 14th

In case you missed the newest. Adam & I went to Ann Arbor so that they could do a full workup and recommend what should happen next in the treatment plan since it was noted that on the PET Scan there were 3 locations that lit up but all the other previous locations did not light up on the scan, which is good but concern of why there are 3 sites active with 1 being a new site. They were thinking that the current hormone therapy treatment wasn't working to block what the cancer feeds from.

As Adam & I made the 7 hour trip to Ann Arbor we talked and listened to the radio. It was great that either SMILE FM or K-LOVE were within range to keep us listening to positive songs all the way down. At one point while it was dark and Francesca Battistelli's song Holy Spirit came on and as we listened to it, we held hands and made it our prayer for the whirlwind of appointments, doctors, information, results, and decisions we would be facing this week. I can say that when a couple stands firm together with God on their side....it's amazing!  I have included the lyric video at the end. It is a powerful prayer!

Adam & I arrived late on Sunday night at his cousin's to stay the night since the first test, a mammogram, would take place starting at 7:45am. His cousin lives very close to the hospital. From the mammogram they found a calcified spot on the left side which had actually never been looked at before. They had only ever done a mammogram on the right which is the side with the tumor. They sent me for an ultrasound to see if they could see the spot. They could not find it on ultrasound so it was recommended that I get a biopsy done on the left. They also recommended that a biopsy be done on the right again since sometimes the receptors can change. So after waiting to see different nurses, doctors, etc. I ended up having a biopsy on the right that was done in the office at the very end of the day. I think pretty much everyone else had gone home for the day. When we left, the surgeon and her nurse were going to do whatever they could to get me in for the left biopsy on Tuesday since we were so far from home and have 4 children & missed them.  It didn't work. They couldn't get me scheduled for Tuesday but were able to get me in on Wednesday at 8:15 am. So Adam & I stayed at his cousin's again. On Tuesday we slept in since we were exhausted from the drive on Sunday & Monday's activity at the Cancer Clinic. After breakfast and a leisure morning, we found a place for lunch near the theater and then watched a movie. After the movie, Adam vacuumed his car and I helped Gabby with her homework using pics on Google Hangouts and my phone to talk to her. It worked quite nicely and was fairly quick for math homework.

On Wed morning, we headed for the clinic again and I had the biopsy done via x-ray since that was the only way they could see the spot on the left side. Since it is a teaching hospital there was a doctor aiming to specialize in this area so the doctor doing the procedure was explaining things. I didn't want to concentrate on that part so I started singing in my head the following chorus and just imagining God filling the entire room and guiding each person involved in this procedure that HIS best would be the outcome.

Holy Spirit you are welcome here, come flood this place and fill the atmosphere, your glory God is what our hearts long for, to be overcome by your presence, Lord.

  The procedure went really well according to the doctor And the nurse AND the radiologist technician. They each said Really great several times. I kinda wondered at first if they were just saying it to make me feel better but the impression I got was that it really did go very smoothly and without actually saying it plainly, I think it may have perhaps been one of the best procedures they have done. They got the sample that they needed and after waiting the allotted time for me to show i was okay, we got in the car and headed home. We stopped for lunch at Adam's aunt & uncle's and then continued home. On the way, the nurse called to give me the results for the biopsy from Monday (the right side, the original diagnosis site). She said that it tested as Invasive Ductile Carcinoma (which was the original diagnosis) and that it was still estrogen + but the HER2 receptor that originally tested as - was actually + now and that the oncologist was going to recommend to my local oncologist to add the HER2 medicine which is an IV drip. I'm not sure the details on the med but it made me glad that we followed the path to Ann Arbor and that they re-tested the original site.

Then today, I got a phone call from the doctor that did the biopsy on the Left side and she said that it is BENIGN!!!  I can't remember exactly what she called it, something about a fibrous something or other but I blurted out PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When she said it was good news. She told me that the surgeon's office would contact me about the mastectomy that they are scheduling for the right. I'm not sure the time-frame on the surgery but I think fairly soon.




So even though I was praying for everything to be completely gone, God is faithful to give me another step closer to that victory of complete healing. I know its so close. And I will continue to praise God for it!  In the meantime, I will be attending some of these services to allow God to minister to me through this couple. If you aren't too far away from our area, come join us! I think you'll be blessed in some way.

I had to kind of take it easy today as I wasn't allowed to lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk but tomorrow I've got a busy day ahead of me. Today I had family come by to help & visit and we have company coming and I'm very excited to spend time with some more family.  I just love ALL my family!

Thank you for your continued prayers through all of this. Please know that I have been praying for several of you. As things are brought to my attention, I lift it to God or I speak healing to other people's bodies. God is the great physician and I am glad to have him use me to minister to others. Be sure to leave your prayer requests in the comments or on my FB page in the comments. I pray for each one.