I made an executive decision to change the title of this series. It will no longer be called Cancer Journey, but Healing Journey. I had wanted to reach people going through cancer to see what my life looks like with the diagnosis, but cancer is not really a main focus for me anymore. I am healing. I am hoping that others going through this will see the healing that is occurring and not just the trials.
Through prayers of people around the world to the one and only God, and by his healing powers and the authority that he has given us to speak life, (Proverbs 18:21 The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. NIV) I am getting stronger and healthier every day.
Do the Math!
Let’s start with an update of the various cancer levels that are being checked in me. I changed the line colors from the last post so it would be easier to see.
The pink line, breast cancer 15-3, is as of June 6th, at 44. The “safe zone” is anywhere from 0 to 25. So, I just have another 20 points to drop there. The peak was over 200 last year.
The purple line, breast cancer 27.29 is at 54.7. It’s “safe zone” is from 0 to 38.6. That means there is only a 16.1 point difference. The peak was over 300.
The green line, ovarian cancer 125, is within the “safe zone” at 30.2. Anything under 35 is acceptable. Just to remind you, I do not have ovarian cancer. This just shows that the breast cancer made its way to my organs and set off protein markers that suggest ovarian cancer.
Dr Appointments
March 15th was just another appointment. No surprises. My blood pressure was up a bit. We talked about my headaches and how I had been feeling. My lab results all passed so I was able to get my shots and move on.
April 12th was pretty much the same. No surprises. My blood pressure was still up. Dr. M suggested talking to my primary doctor to see about blood pressure medication. Lab results all passed, once again, and I got my shots and moved on.
May 7th was slightly different. Dr. M had the results from a bone density test that I had done the previous week. It showed that the lesions in my spine were scarring over. I got all excited and then realized that I didn’t know what that meant. I asked if that was a good thing. He smiled and said that, yes, it is a good thing. He also noted that my blood pressure was still high and I needed to see my primary doctor. This appointment was on a Wednesday. The shots have to be every 28 days, so I returned Friday and had my blood work done. All lab results passed and I got my shots and moved on.
May 13th I was able to get into see a PA. She agreed that my blood pressure was a bit high. She prescribed a very low dose medication and all I had to do was pick it up at the pharmacy.
As easy as that sounds, it turns out that it wasn’t so easy. The computer system defaulted to sending my prescription to Scripts. Scripts mails you the prescription and charges a copay. She caught the error and fixed it, or at least thought she did. I tried to get in line for the pharmacy, but it showed I didn’t have anything to pick up. I then got a text from Scripts asking if my address was correct. It still showed San Antonio, so I texted back with, NO. The auto text then said it was on the way. On the way to San Antonio? That’s not going to work. I called the service line and the agent told me that it did show that I responded with “no”, but they sent it out anyways. The package would probably not be forwarded but returned and destroyed. I did get charged though. Once they received the package back they would send out a new one to my new address and would charge me again. Sounds lovely, right? Ben didn’t think so either. Since I said ‘no’ before they sent it, and I did not give them permission to use my card (they had it on file from a previous error) Ben called the credit card company and issued a stop payment. As my niece says, “It was a pain of the butt.”
May 30th was a dentist appointment. Not that you need to know about my teeth being cleaned, but while I sat in the waiting room I got a call from someone in San Antonio. He said his name and mentioned that he was with the gastroenterology clinic. Records don’t always get updated, so I thought he was calling to make a follow up appointment. He assured me that he knew I was gone and just had a few questions for me. It was not a good time so I asked him to call me back later.
Later came and he called. He was Dr K and was on the team that had originally discovered the cancer. He was calling to ask my permission to write a paper on how the cancer was ultimately found and to be able to present it to other doctors. The way the cancer presented itself through stomach pains was unusual. I have no problem with other doctors learning from my situation and if it helps anyone catch it sooner, good. Dr K really didn’t need my permission to write this paper or present it to others. My personal information will be removed and I am just an anonymous patient. He asked my permission because he wants to do follow up questions. If he hadn’t asked to write the paper it may have been a bit awkward to ask for more details later on. So, there it is. I’m weird enough to be a doctor’s presentation.
June 7th I saw Dr. M again. He went ahead and ordered the blood pressure meds for me. The high blood pressure is just another side effect of the various medications. So, ya, medications for my medications.
During the visit I told him that I had caught a head cold and it had really worn me out. I had been so tired that I was having a hard time getting off the couch before noon. When I did get up, I was very light-headed and dizzy. I also told him that the day before, at approximately 3:30 am, I was all better. He asked how I knew it was 3:30 in the morning. I told him I woke up and looked at the clock. He asked if I was awake because I was worried about being sick? I answered honestly. I was awake because I couldn’t remember if I locked the chickens up or not. I don’t think he knew how to respond to that. He told me to be on the lookout for cough or fever because the head cold could become an infection very easily. Just so you know, it has not.
So that’s pretty much all the medical stuff. Well, almost, there is one more appointment update at the end. I just got to keep the suspense going somehow.
Secrets Revealed!
Oooo, what secrets? Well, I told you I was designing a new baby quilt and showed the first strip. Let’s take another look at it.
It is the center strip to….
A helmet!
But what is the helmet for? Drum roll please…
An armor quilt! Not just any armor, but the Armor of God.
Ephesians 6 says to put on the full armor of God. It goes on to list the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the sword of the Spirit, the belt of truth and feet shod with the gospel of peace.
I can just picture little ones being tucked in with this powerful reminder of God’s protection over them.
I have sent it off to be quilted, because I don’t do quilting. I’m going to have it done with a wave pattern that reminds me of the Holy Spirit and how He is always moving around us.
I am also going to be making a pattern for it, but I need some help. There are so many pieces that doing a downloadable pattern might be too much for people to want to print. I would like to make a book type pattern, but I have no idea how to make that happen. If you have advice on how to do this, please let me know.
What Else has been Happening?
I met my friend Heather while living in South Korea. She was my really-get-into-a-theme friend. When the spouse’s club had a Roaring 20s theme, we were in full on flapper gear. When I did events for women’s ministry, she was my matching flight attendant, sailor, cowgirl, etc.
She and her husband came up to visit his family. I got to see them one day. We bummed around in Olympia at an antique store then ate at a fun burger place called Big Tom’s. Aside from the Humdinger in Hoquiam it has the best burgers around.
Heather had commissioned Davina to do a watercolor of a flying pig (it’s her thing). I got to deliver it. Isn’t it cute?
How to Get a Free Dinner
I had other friends come out a month later. We had met Wayne and Susan when we lived in Louisiana. We make a point to go visit them in Texas when we are down South, but this time they planned their vacation around seeing us.
Ben had a few days off so we played tour guide. We took them out into Puget Sound on our boat. It was a bit chilly, but still plenty beautiful. I mean, it’s the Pacific Northwest, it’s pretty even when it’s not. After motoring around and looking at all the houses and properties that lined the inlet we went back to the marina. There were men unloading their harvest from the day. There were bins of geoducks (pronounced gooey ducks.) We had just been talking about them and our friends had never heard of them. So, as we passed by the bins on the dock we pointed them out. Susan, in her sweetest Southern accent, talked to the diver that had harvested them and mentioned that she had never heard of them before. He carried them up to their van and then a man yelled something down to us which I can only figure he asked, “Do you like clams?” because a few seconds later he was down on the dock with three cleaned geoducks and handed them to Susan.
He then explained to us how to blanch, slice and fry the geoduck for dinner. I’m not a fan of clams or the smell, but for friends I allowed it in my house. Just one though. The other two went into the freezer. My hospitality has limits.
Another day we did trip around the peninsula to see the Northwestern most point of the lower 48, Cape Flattery. It looked more like tropical waters than Washington’s Pacific Ocean. The drive was long, but the hike out to the point was short and easy. Definitely my kind of hike.
Bucket List
A Facebook friend (Hi, Tricia!) had mentioned that she was going to be at the Scottish Highland Games up in Blaine, WA. When does listening to bagpipe be played for hours on end not sound like a day well spent? I can’t think of one either. We loaded up a couple kids and brother’s friend and made the 3-hour trip up to the Canadian border.
There were bagpipes, pipers, drums, traditional dancing, games and haggis. I enjoyed them all, except for the haggis. I’m just not that adventurous.
I remember learning about the Scottish games while in high school. I have wanted to watch the caber toss ever since then and I finally got to. Apparently, it’s not as easy as it looks. While the guys were plenty strong, I only saw it get tossed end-over-end a couple of times.
Meet Beth
I’d like to introduce you to Beth Salinas: military wife, mother, sister in Christ and a bunch of other titles.
I also met her while stationed at Camp Humphreys, South Korea. She too is a lover of sewing/quilting and crafting and knows that if you want a business while living the military life it needs to be able to move with you. She started her quilting and embroidery service called, Quilted Evergreen.
She made some really cute key tags for her kids’ teachers as an end of the school year gift. I sent her a message and asked if she sold them. Turns out she does. I ordered three. One for brother to match his truck, one for sister to match her college colors and one for me in some colors I like. The kids had to point out they are Seahawks colors, but that is not what I was going for. That is a good idea though.
Aren’t they nice?
I swiped a few other pics from her Instagram to show you other things she does. Her work is great! Go check it out. I know a few fellow foul lovers out there that may need a chicken towel.
You can find her on Facebook at: Sewing by Quilted Evergreen. On Instagram @quiltedevergreen • Instagram photos and videos and online at quiltedevergreen.com
One More Doctor Appointment
I just went in for my monthly check up last week on July 5th. Y’all, the cancer numbers are still going down!
CA ag 15-3 dropped another 5 points to 39. The “safe zone” range is 00-25. I’m only 14 points from normal!
CA ag 27.29 dropped another 13.4 points to 41.3. Its “safe zone” range is 0.0-38.6. That’s nearly 20 points in two months and only 2.7 points away from normal!
And the ovarian cancer screen CA 125 dropped another 3.5 points to 26.7. I was already in the “safe zone” of less than 35, but I still love to see it go down.
I made a new graph of just this last year. How cool is this!
Last year when I first met Dr. M he told me that he expected my counts to stay around the 80s. That they would level off there and that’s what I should be expecting. I let him know that they were going down. Drs are people (extremely smart ones that are appreciated, but still just people.) They know what they are taught and what they’ve seen.
I know that God is a healer. I am seeing the proof. These numbers are not what normally happen. I put my faith and trust in Him. When you know that God is good and only wants good for you it’s no longer scary to pray, “Your will be done.”
God loves you and wants the best for you. If you have never accepted Christ into your life and would like to it’s a very simple prayer. Just say, “Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and I need a savior. Please come into my life and cleans me and make me whole. Please live in me from this moment forward.”
It’s as simple as that. That small amount of faith that believes you can be saved from the consequences of your sins and be adopted into the family of God is the same faith that it takes to be healed. It’s not the size of the faith that matters. It’s who you put your faith in. Pray for His will to be done in your life and see what happens.
Thank you for all your prayers and messages. And please continue to pray for my friend, Leah. She has some big tests and new treatments may be available but pray that the healing power of Jesus will touch her because no medicine can compare.
Thank you for reading. Have a wonderfully blessed day!
To read from the beginning click here.
To read the previous post click here.
❤️