"Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:6-7
I'm doing very well after my surgery last Thursday. It turned out to be a very long day. We left about 6:30 a.m. to get to Birmingham as I was on the lineup at 11:00 and was supposed to be there by 10:30. After getting in a pre-op room and getting preliminaries going, we were informed that my surgery would be about 2:00 p.m. About 2:00 we were informed it would be more like 4:00. My doctor's surgeries before me had turned out to be quite involved and took longer than expected.
I had exceptionally good anesthesiologists this time. The first one that saw me in pre-op asked all kinds of questions and assured me they would give me the right medications to keep me from being nauseated afterwards (which they have done for me in all of my surgeries at St. Vincent's in Birmingham). Then, by the time they took me into the holding room at 4:00 I had a different anesthesiologist. He, too, asked a lot of questions. He said he might have to leave before my surgery was finished, but another doctor would take over. I got to meet that doctor before surgery, too, and he asked the same questions. So I was confident that whoever was administering the anesthesia knew my needs very well. The second dr. came in about 4:30 to give me something in my IV and said I probably wouldn't remember anything from then on. He was right. I don't remember anything after he gave that to me until I was waking up in recovery.
While in recovery they couldn't find a room for me. The only place available was in MICU (Medical Intensive Care Unit). My surgeon didn't want them to put me there so they found a room on the 6th floor. Then they decided they might need that for the orthopedic patient and put me in MICU anyway. MICU is very strict about their visiting hours. So my husband wasn't allowed to stay with me indefinitely and had to wait till 9:30 the next morning. That didn't go over too well, but, hey, he adjusted...right?!
MICU was another experience. There I was being treated like I really needed to be in MICU until we told them that I'm really not supposed to be there...please feel free to take care of your more needy patients. I did have a very good nurse on duty during the night. She checked on me often. I didn't get awakened by nurses coming in to take vital signs. No, not in MICU. They have you all hooked up to do it automatically. You think you lose sleep/rest with nurses coming in to take your vitals????? (Not to mention they don't close doors to patients' rooms, they sit right outside your room and you hear them talking about everything ALL NIGHT, and, too often, you hear them respond to Code Blues...which thankfully got cancelled each time I heard it...but you hear them go into action until it is cancelled.)
Anyway, I'm doing well. I'll go back to B'ham for my post-op appointment with my surgeon on Tuesday. I'll resume the monthly Erbitux treatments on Thursday. We'll find out next week when radiation treatments will begin. I haven't heard back from my surgeon. I guess he's waiting to see me Tuesday since we pretty much already knew what it was. He said it was in my muscle and he "plucked" it out as not to cut the muscle. So I'm very thankful since I already know what that is like. Thank you for all of the encouragement so many of you have sent my way. It means tons.
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Here is an updated list of my history. I carry a list with me now as it's hard to remember when filling out medical history at doctors' offices.
*SCC spread to neck muscle under tip of left clavicle, 8/08 surgery, radiation and continued monthly Erbitux
*SCC spread to neck and gum area, 12/07 surgery to remove 2 lumps in neck, one classified as a dead cancer, gum area-superficial, clean margins, 8 wks Erbitux, then long range monthly Erbitux treatments
*SCC spread through blood stream to knot in neck muscle, 5/07 surgery to remove knot involved removing muscle as well, no lymph nodes tested positive, 6 wks radiation & 8 wks Erbitux
*SCC spread to gum area, 12/06 surgery removing gum area & 2 more bottom molars, superficial and clean margins, no treatments
*SCC spread to lump in neck, 7/05 surgery, one lymph node tested positive, 6 wks radiation treatments to mouth and neck
*Squamous cell carcinoma spread to gum area, 1/05 surgery removing gum & 2 bottom molars, clean margins, no treatments
*Tongue cancer-SCC, 4/04 surgery, clean margins, no lymph nodes tested positive, no treatments
*Breast cancer, 11/2000 lumpectomy, clean margins, no lymph nodes tested positive, 6 wks radiation treatments
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Another week, another day
You know I've made it clear in my previous blogs that I don't have much faith in PET scans. I just had one in April and
"all was well". Well, I found out last week that I will be having surgery on Thursday to remove another place in my neck. It either comes up just that fast or it was way too small to detect in April. I don't know.
Anyway, after noticing something different for about 3 weeks in a different part of my neck, I got it checked out. I called my radiation oncologist's nurse last Monday. She asked me if I could come right in. I did. My dr. ordered a CT scan and I went right then for it. It was a contrast dye scan from neck to pelvis. The only thing that showed up as abnormal was the place in my neck. All else was normal. PTL
He had me return to his office as soon as I had the scan done. After he had pulled up the scan on his computer, he called me into his office to show it to me. He said it definitely looked like a lymph node was involved. He called my surgeon in B'ham and talked to him as I sat in his office. It was pretty neat to hear him explaining to him in their medical terms exactly where it was, and..."When can you see her this week?" My surgeon said Friday at 11, but he, also, wanted me to have an ultrasound guided needle biopsy. So I had that done on Tuesday. I got the results on Thursday that it was consistent with squamous cell carcinoma like I have had in my mouth and neck. After seeing my surgeon on Friday, I am on the line-up at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday to have surgery in B'ham. We will leave early that morning, and I will stay overnight as I always have.
It is the consensus of both of my doctors to start radiation on this area about 3 weeks after surgery. It is in a place that has not been radiated before. All of my previous tumors have been on the right side of my mouth and neck. This one is actually on the left. It is just at the bottom of my throat in the center where the two collarbones can be felt. It is like behind the tip of the left clavicle. I will most likely continue with the Erbitux treatments, but I will have to see my medical oncologist to see what he thinks.
I anticipate God's faithfulness in showing His full and complete sovereignty in yet another trial He has allowed. Thank you for your continued support and prayers. I will most certainly share with you whatever my God shares with me. You know, God working in our lives is what we need to hear from each other to give the hope and encouragement of a living God. I would love to hear from you.
"all was well". Well, I found out last week that I will be having surgery on Thursday to remove another place in my neck. It either comes up just that fast or it was way too small to detect in April. I don't know.
Anyway, after noticing something different for about 3 weeks in a different part of my neck, I got it checked out. I called my radiation oncologist's nurse last Monday. She asked me if I could come right in. I did. My dr. ordered a CT scan and I went right then for it. It was a contrast dye scan from neck to pelvis. The only thing that showed up as abnormal was the place in my neck. All else was normal. PTL
He had me return to his office as soon as I had the scan done. After he had pulled up the scan on his computer, he called me into his office to show it to me. He said it definitely looked like a lymph node was involved. He called my surgeon in B'ham and talked to him as I sat in his office. It was pretty neat to hear him explaining to him in their medical terms exactly where it was, and..."When can you see her this week?" My surgeon said Friday at 11, but he, also, wanted me to have an ultrasound guided needle biopsy. So I had that done on Tuesday. I got the results on Thursday that it was consistent with squamous cell carcinoma like I have had in my mouth and neck. After seeing my surgeon on Friday, I am on the line-up at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday to have surgery in B'ham. We will leave early that morning, and I will stay overnight as I always have.
It is the consensus of both of my doctors to start radiation on this area about 3 weeks after surgery. It is in a place that has not been radiated before. All of my previous tumors have been on the right side of my mouth and neck. This one is actually on the left. It is just at the bottom of my throat in the center where the two collarbones can be felt. It is like behind the tip of the left clavicle. I will most likely continue with the Erbitux treatments, but I will have to see my medical oncologist to see what he thinks.
I anticipate God's faithfulness in showing His full and complete sovereignty in yet another trial He has allowed. Thank you for your continued support and prayers. I will most certainly share with you whatever my God shares with me. You know, God working in our lives is what we need to hear from each other to give the hope and encouragement of a living God. I would love to hear from you.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
An Actual Word of Praise
Tuesday we went to Birmingham for my regularly scheduled check-up with my surgeon, Dr. H. My check-up was fine other than having a place removed from the side of my tongue that had gotten bigger. I wasn't overly concerned as it was similar to one he removed earlier this year that was benign. I just didn't like that it was getting bigger. His office called me about 5:15 yesterday to tell me that it was plasia, a benign growth like the other one. What good news to receive...and it only took about 24 hours to find out!!...and I don't have to go back for 3 months!!! Hopefully, I will then be telling you about the good news from my regularly scheduled appointment!!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
A Touch of Faith
...the title of my Henry Blackaby devotional on Saturday.
"Jesus said, "Who touched Me?" When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" Luke 8:45
If you feel overwhelmed by what God has called you to do or, like the hemorrhaging woman, by the circumstances in your life, be encouraged. God will respond as you reach out in faith to touch Him. He will empower you and heal you, and you will see miracles happen in your life.
Reaching out, touching Him in faith and anticipating God's response of miracles in my life and in the lives of those close to me.
"Jesus said, "Who touched Me?" When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, "Master the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" Luke 8:45
If you feel overwhelmed by what God has called you to do or, like the hemorrhaging woman, by the circumstances in your life, be encouraged. God will respond as you reach out in faith to touch Him. He will empower you and heal you, and you will see miracles happen in your life.
Reaching out, touching Him in faith and anticipating God's response of miracles in my life and in the lives of those close to me.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Miracles
Miracles was the title of my Henry Blackaby devotional a couple of days ago. He was talking about the miracle the children of Israel experienced when they crossed the Jordan on dry ground (Joshua 3). Verse 15 explains that normally, being the time of harvest, the banks overflowed. He stated in the devotional: "God works His wonders and miracles for people of faith. Realize that your faith in God is not something you declare; faith is what God grants you, and faith is brought to life through action. Saying you believe is commendable, but the people who step out in faith are the ones who see miracles."
Thank you, God, for granting faith to me. Continue to show me how to step out in faith, which is bringing it to life by my actions.
Thank you, God, for granting faith to me. Continue to show me how to step out in faith, which is bringing it to life by my actions.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Tribute to Tony Snow
I just learned when I logged onto my homepage that Tony Snow passed away during the night of colon cancer. Tony Snow was a man of great integrity, a man who walked with God, a man whose hope was in God...no matter what might lie ahead. I shared in a previous blog an article that he wrote, Cancer's Unexpected Blessings . I wanted to bring that up again as a tribute to what a great Christian man Tony Snow was. He is now with his Lord and Saviour with a new body, free from the ravages of cancer.
I had the opportunity to send him an email through a link with many others about a year ago while he was still serving as Press Secretary for the White House. It was a link for those to let him know they were praying for him after he had just had another cancerous growth removed. I received the following email from him that I'm sure he sent to all who had contacted him:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Washington
Thanks so much for the kind note - and for including me in your thoughts and prayers.
I can't tell you how much I appreciate you thinking of me and raising my name in prayer. Prayers have enormous power. They're good medicine - and they certainly have lifted my spirits. I feel as if I have been borne on the shoulders of thousands of friends, all of whom have made the ride easier than I ever could have imagined.
We're blessed to live in a land where people just want an excuse to do something good for someone else. Thanks for taking advantage of that opportunity with me. Please encourage others to do it closer to home for other friends in need. Kind words, notes, emails, and small gestures have a way of lightening the load, while making our own lives richer and more rewarding.
Again, thanks for the incredible gift of caring.
God bless,
TONY SNOW
“You want to make every pundit look bad? Then stand tall for what you believe. Don’t be shy. You want to stun the establishment? Then become a mighty force for conservative principles, and tackle the task with confidence and cheer... This may be a time of testing. But it’s not our swan song. Not by a long shot. Instead... this is our moment. This is the time to do what we do best—turn adversity into strength.” —the late Tony Snow, former White House Press Secretary
Dear God, you've received one of your choice servants unto Yourself this day. God, raise up and give us more men of such Christian integrity in our government and media as this one, Tony Snow.
I had the opportunity to send him an email through a link with many others about a year ago while he was still serving as Press Secretary for the White House. It was a link for those to let him know they were praying for him after he had just had another cancerous growth removed. I received the following email from him that I'm sure he sent to all who had contacted him:
THE WHITE HOUSE
Washington
Thanks so much for the kind note - and for including me in your thoughts and prayers.
I can't tell you how much I appreciate you thinking of me and raising my name in prayer. Prayers have enormous power. They're good medicine - and they certainly have lifted my spirits. I feel as if I have been borne on the shoulders of thousands of friends, all of whom have made the ride easier than I ever could have imagined.
We're blessed to live in a land where people just want an excuse to do something good for someone else. Thanks for taking advantage of that opportunity with me. Please encourage others to do it closer to home for other friends in need. Kind words, notes, emails, and small gestures have a way of lightening the load, while making our own lives richer and more rewarding.
Again, thanks for the incredible gift of caring.
God bless,
TONY SNOW
“You want to make every pundit look bad? Then stand tall for what you believe. Don’t be shy. You want to stun the establishment? Then become a mighty force for conservative principles, and tackle the task with confidence and cheer... This may be a time of testing. But it’s not our swan song. Not by a long shot. Instead... this is our moment. This is the time to do what we do best—turn adversity into strength.” —the late Tony Snow, former White House Press Secretary
Dear God, you've received one of your choice servants unto Yourself this day. God, raise up and give us more men of such Christian integrity in our government and media as this one, Tony Snow.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Update
I saw my surgeon today in Birmingham for my check-up. I told him the place on my neck hasn't changed. He felt it and said it felt like it was just sitting there. He said he was okay with it just sitting there. We are, too...rather that than showing any change.
I'm trying to get over a yeast infection in my mouth, though. It flared up really bad after treating a sinus infection with a couple of antibiotics. The prescription for the yeast infection (or thrush) cleared it up after about 3 days (though, I continued to finish the medicine as directed), but then it came back...so I've been treating it for about 3 1/2 weeks with a couple of prescriptions. When I saw my radiation doctor on Friday for my checkup with him, he gave me a prescription for something different to try. My B'ham doctor agreed. So, hopefully, this will do the job. My radiation dr. said it's probably an ongoing thing because of my immune system being so low. That explains why my tongue looked so normal after the first 3 days on the medicine. It hasn't looked normal in 2 1/2 years since I had radiation to my mouth, so I've probably been dealing with this all this time and nobody said anything. It explains why my mouth has been so sore and sensitive at times since I'm feeling the same thing right now.
I finished the 8 weeks of Erbitux and have had my first monthly treatment. Most of the symptoms have cleared up and it doesn't look like I will have them so bad with just having monthly treatments. It is nice to have 3-4 weeks between them.
That's all for now.
I'm trying to get over a yeast infection in my mouth, though. It flared up really bad after treating a sinus infection with a couple of antibiotics. The prescription for the yeast infection (or thrush) cleared it up after about 3 days (though, I continued to finish the medicine as directed), but then it came back...so I've been treating it for about 3 1/2 weeks with a couple of prescriptions. When I saw my radiation doctor on Friday for my checkup with him, he gave me a prescription for something different to try. My B'ham doctor agreed. So, hopefully, this will do the job. My radiation dr. said it's probably an ongoing thing because of my immune system being so low. That explains why my tongue looked so normal after the first 3 days on the medicine. It hasn't looked normal in 2 1/2 years since I had radiation to my mouth, so I've probably been dealing with this all this time and nobody said anything. It explains why my mouth has been so sore and sensitive at times since I'm feeling the same thing right now.
I finished the 8 weeks of Erbitux and have had my first monthly treatment. Most of the symptoms have cleared up and it doesn't look like I will have them so bad with just having monthly treatments. It is nice to have 3-4 weeks between them.
That's all for now.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Defined by who you are in Christ
Beth Moore's devotional, May 31:
You are not defined by anything that happened to you or anything you've done. You are defined by who you are in Christ. Lord, I have no reason to be ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that You are able to guard what I have entrusted to You for that day (2 Tim. 1:12). Even when I've been faithless, You've been faithful, for You cannot disown Yourself (2 Tim. 2:13). Help me not to fall victim to the accusations of Satan, the accuser of believers. He is furious because he knows his time is short. I have received Your salvation and I am in Your kingdom, under the authority of Your Son, Jesus Christ. The enemy is overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimonies (Rev. 12:10-11). Help me never cease testifying of Your mighty work in me.
(Beth Moore: Praying God's Word Day By Day)
The last sentence was just confirmation for my blog...an opportunity to ever testify of God's mighty work in me...along with the blood of the Lamb, overcoming the enemy.
But this devotional, also, gave me reason to reflect on the enemy's schemes in others' lives. He may try to cause a person to define who they are by what has happened to them or by what they've done, knowing his time is short, wanting that one to feel defeated and hopeless...trying to prevent a testimony of God's mighty work. Thank God He is more faithful to give us definition through what His Son did for us on Calvary rather than anything Satan may have tried to use to steal, kill, and destroy. Satan isn't privy to the big picture. God is!
You are not defined by anything that happened to you or anything you've done. You are defined by who you are in Christ. Lord, I have no reason to be ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that You are able to guard what I have entrusted to You for that day (2 Tim. 1:12). Even when I've been faithless, You've been faithful, for You cannot disown Yourself (2 Tim. 2:13). Help me not to fall victim to the accusations of Satan, the accuser of believers. He is furious because he knows his time is short. I have received Your salvation and I am in Your kingdom, under the authority of Your Son, Jesus Christ. The enemy is overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of our testimonies (Rev. 12:10-11). Help me never cease testifying of Your mighty work in me.
(Beth Moore: Praying God's Word Day By Day)
The last sentence was just confirmation for my blog...an opportunity to ever testify of God's mighty work in me...along with the blood of the Lamb, overcoming the enemy.
But this devotional, also, gave me reason to reflect on the enemy's schemes in others' lives. He may try to cause a person to define who they are by what has happened to them or by what they've done, knowing his time is short, wanting that one to feel defeated and hopeless...trying to prevent a testimony of God's mighty work. Thank God He is more faithful to give us definition through what His Son did for us on Calvary rather than anything Satan may have tried to use to steal, kill, and destroy. Satan isn't privy to the big picture. God is!
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