Super Radioactive Woman

I had my PET Scan this morning in Battle Creek.  My parents went with me which was very appreciated!  I had my 3rd IV of the week to receive the injection of radioactive glucose (sugar).  The scan then looks at how your cells respond to the glucose.  Because the cancer cells absorb it, they can find any other areas of cancer in your body.  The area of the hospital that I was in looked more like a NASA lab or something you would see on Back to the Future.  The technician had to leave the room while I was waiting for this substance to take effect because she had to limit her exposure to the radioactivity.  And when my kids get off the bus today we can't have close contact because it could still be in my system!  The procedure was easy, lots more time to lay there and pray.  The results will be given to the oncologist anywhere from 1-3 business days.  So if you see a glow of light over Nashville tonight, it's probably just me, Super Radioactive Woman!

New info.

The surgeon's office called today with my surgery date & time.  It will be on October 19th at 10am.  My PET Scan was supposed to be this day so that has been changed to tomorrow morning.  Just feeling grateful that everything is falling into place so nicely.  I won't get to boogie with everyone at the Party in Pink Dance -A-Thon on the 20th but hopefully I will be able to come out for a while to see everyone in action!  A huge thank you to Nichole Hansen and Angie Walker for planning this!

Stars

My friend Carrie sent me this quote today and it is so fitting.


"When it is dark enough, you can see the stars"-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Those stars that are shining in my darkness are all of you!  Those of you who have sent a note, text, e-mail, Facebook message or post-those who have prayed for us-those who are sacrificing their time & energy to support the cause of cancer-YOU are the stars that bring light to this dark time.  I am so thankful that God has put each one of you in my life!

Oct. 10-Day 9

Kyle & I met with the oncologist this afternoon.  This is what we found out:
*The CAT scan of my chest shows a spot of concern on the right lower lobe of my left lung.  This may or may not be anything so I am having a PET scan on Oct. 19th to learn more.  Please join me in praying that this spot will just be GONE when they go to look for it!

*He wants me to have genetic testing done on myself to see if I may be positive.  (This would mean that they check to see if you carry a mutated breast cancer gene).  My Mom has already had this testing and was negative.  There is still much that I don't understand about this...can my Mom be negative and me positive?  And if I am negative also....why do we have so much breast cancer in our family?  Don't worry, I'm not expecting you to answer these questions for me:)

*Per Dr. Smiley's (the oncologist) recommendation I have decided to go with a lumpectomy as my surgical option.  This is where only the lump is removed conserving as much of the breast as possible.  I will be calling tomorrow to schedule that procedure and will keep you posted.

*I meet with Dr. Smiley again on November 1st.  This will be after the surgery (hopefully...another prayer request would be that I am able to have the surgery in the next couple of weeks) and will be when we start looking at beginning chemotherapy treatments.  The type & schedule (how often) of treatments will be determined by whether or not any lymph nodes were affected and we're assuming that the spot on my lung will become a factor in that as well (but remember, we're praying that is gone:)

*Radiation treatments will then follow the chemo!  Not much to say about that other than it's a little ways away so we're not gonna worry about that now!

*It was really hard walking into that cancer center today, but gaining all of this knowledge is so helpful to my mind & emotions.  God is so good and I know He's got this!

Overwhelmed and Humbled

Day 2 of being poked, prodded and scanned!  Started my day by drinking a barium solution at home to prepare for the Cat Scan.  It was yucky!  Then when the technician was taking me back to begin the procedure he so kindly mentioned that I had another glass of the fine beverage waiting for me!!  Had to have another IV for this procedure but the scan itself was easy breezy.  They were able to give me the injection to prepare for the bone scan when I finished the Cat Scan so I didn't have to have an additional poke.  My Mom and I were able to go do whatever for 3 hours.  We visited my Grandma, made a Wal-Mart run and ate lunch.  The bone scan was the easiest of all of the procedures.  No extra pokes, a quiet machine & all I had to do was lay there for 20 minutes (lots more praying time)!

The reason that I named this post Overwhelmed and Humbled is because I have found myself using those words over and over since Saturday.  I always knew I had a great family, I always knew I had great friends and I always knew that our little community was the best place to live & raise a family.  But this past week I have seen things take place that I never dreamed were possible.  Between flowers, cards, phone calls, e-mails, Facebook posts & pink hair dying to cancer walks, dance-a-thons and Team Leslie t-shirts I am at a loss for words.

Thank you just doesn't seem to cover it all so I will continue to pray for all of you & ask God to bless you.  And please pray for me tomorrow as Kyle and I meet with the oncologist.  Specifically that we would get a clear plan of action and a good prognosis.

Oct. 8th-Day 7

MRI and blood work day today.  A big thanks to Mom Booher who joined me!  I was a little nervous about the MRI but radiology techs, Deb & Bob, put me right at ease with their comedy routine.  It was hard to stay still for so long but I stayed calm & used the time to say some prayers.
While having lunch afterwards I got a call from the surgeon's office saying they had the results back already!  She said that no other areas of concern were found in either breast (sorry, gonna have to use that word...probably more often than any of us would like) other than my tumor area.  She also said that from what they could see, the lymph nodes looked clean as well (there will still need to be further testing of the lymph nodes).  Yeah!!!  Go God!!!  One good report with hopefully many more to come!

This evening I was able to take part in the Dig Pink fundraising event put on by the Maple Valley volleyball teams.  A huge thank you to Sarah Carpenter and the whole Carpenter family for your hard work in the fight of cancer!  It was amazing to see everyone in the gym, young & old, dressed in pink to support the cause.

Deuteronomy 31:8 "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you.  He will never leave you nor forsake you."

Oct. 7th-Day 6

Yeah!  The best night of sleep I've had since Tuesday!  Thank you to those who have been praying specifically for me to sleep better.
Wow!  Yesterday was a humbling & overwhelming day for Kyle & I, but all in a good way.
If you haven't had the chance to see the pictures of Gavin's youth football team on Facebook yet you should check it out.  (I would love to post one on here but just haven't had the time to learn that part of blogging yet:).  The boys all wore pink socks which were provided by their coach.  The gesture was just another way to experience the love & support of our community!  While I am talking about Gavin I have to mention that he has such a great group of friends.  Those boys amaze me!  Gavin has come home not once but several times this week and told me how this friend or that friend is praying for me-wow!
Yesterday I also made a public post on Facebook to share the news of my diagnosis.  Kyle & I both read the 80+ comments at different times but our reactions were the same.  Tears of thankfulness & amazement streamed down our cheeks.  We are blessed beyond belief!  With God & all of these supporters for us...what could stand against us?!