CANCER: "You Have Cancer".....And God Whispered.....
"You have cancer in both breast. I see multiple tumors and I also see what looks like cancer in at least one lymph node." Those were the words of my Imaging Doctor, Dr. Tataria. This was the same day I rushed to my doctor to obtain a referral for 3D Mammogram and Sonogram Imaging. God had nudged me with an urgency when He allowed a tumor in my right breast to become a firey, angry red....as Dr. Tataria described the tumor that appeared to have attached itself to the skin tissue of my breast.
I was in shock! The words coming out of her mouth didn't seem like they could apply to me. No one in my family had ever had breast cancer....no one! She was giving me her findings, but without any details. That would take a few days. What kind is it? What is my stage? Is it aggressive? Has it spread? Can I be cured? So many questions, but for today....there are no answers. Multiple biopsies will be done before we will know more.
Although this uncovering was new to me and my family, God had already traveled this journey ahead of me. September 10th, 2018 was when I found out I had cancer, but that is not the day I got cancer. The bad "the cancer" had already happened. I have no idea how long it has been present in my body....slowly trying to kill me. I'm sure the devil wanted to keep his evil disease within me silent....working for my destruction.....until the doctor's considered it "too late" or "cannot be cured." But, that wasn't in God's plan for me. God whispered, "Not today! This cancer is NOT going to take my girl! I am in control....not the cancer!"
I live with His calm and assurance within me everyday. Do I feel good everyday? No way! Cancer can be aggressive or it can move slow, but its aim is to destroy the good in your body. Chemo also destroys the good while attempting to annihilate the cancer. It has so many side-effects. Many of them, I don't allow my mind to ponder as they can easily take you to a fruitless place filled with depression, doubt, unanswerable questions.....on and on....no good can come from it. However, there are a variety of side-effects that I do deal with after each treatment.
Some of them are:
Tired/Weak Feelings - Lasts about a week
Chemo Brain Fog - Slow to think or express - Lasts a day or two
Diarrhea - Lasts most of the time between treatments
Low Blood Count (Red and White) - I am eating greens, drinking superfood smoothies, and taking an Iron Supplement everyday for building the Red and I take a drug called Neulasta that is attached to my stomach after my chemo treatments. It dispenses through my stomach after 24 hours and then I can remove it. It is a bone marrow stimulant and helps increase my White blood cells. Its side-effect is bone pain and spasms, but I take Claritin - an anthistaine - that relieves the severe bone pain.
Nausea - I take four strong nausea medicines in my port prior to treatments. Then, I take a nausea medicine, 8 MG Zofran, each morning. The combination has worked wonderful for me. My Oncologist prescribed two other nausea medicines in case I need them, but thus far I haven't had to. I have felt slightly nauseous a few times, but never have come close to throwing up. An awesome blessing!
Taste - Very distorted! Most foods have a metal like taste. Some taste good while I am eating, but the after is not good. Seasonings are over-charged and spicy hurts. I have to be very careful to limit all seasonings.
Appetite - My appetite is not great, but I know that I have to eat. The doctor wants me to eat 6 to 8 small meals a day to keep my energy up and feed my body nutritionally.
Throat - For some weird reason, for a day or so after chemo, it is difficult for me to swallow. I literally can't swallow....as if I had a cork in it. I have to drink water and that opens it back up. During this time, I have to take a swallow of water after almost every bite of food to get it down.
Weight Gain - A side-effect of the nausea medicines (and chemo) that I am taking in my port can cause weight gain. And, it is happening to me. Every-time I go to the doctor and have weight check....I have gained 2 to 4 pounds. Not Cool!!!
Blood-Pressure Issue - In the first couple of weeks of learning I had bilateral breast cancer with all the biopsies, testing, consultations....my blood-pressure would sky rocket to dangerous numbers at every procedure and visit. I would have to stay an hour after I was finished just to try and get my blood-pressure down. I have now been prescribed a 10MG Hypertension Medication and a 25 MG Hypertension/Diuretic.
Satan uses evils like cancer and other diseases to tempt the believer. He wants a follower of Jesus to manifest doubt, weaken in their faith, and question all they know to be True. If satan can get a foothold in our life...get into our head...when our bodies are sick and frail, he starts to win and we start to lose our battle....not only our battle with disease, but our battle to be strong in the fight for the cause of Jesus the Christ.
God is molding me and shaping me all along this cancer journey. It is a path that He has allowed for me to travel because He knows my faith will remain strong and my testimony for Him will shine even brighter. Cancer is of satan; however, blessings can come from and can be in the middle of struggles and trials. God is using this cancer to enable me to touch more lives for Him. I now have a new passion and compassion for people who are living with cancer and who have overcome cancer like I never could have before. People tell me...."I know what you are going through because my "insert friend or family member" had cancer and I went through it with them. No! Loving a person with cancer, standing strong with them and for them can never be the same as the one who is living with something inside of them trying to kill them every day as they fight to live. But, the caregivers, prayer warriors, medical professionals, family members, and friends all play extremely important rolls in the journey of one who is battling for their life. It is so important to have positive, faith-filled believers feeding you with encouraging and uplifting messages daily. Our mind-set plays a huge role in our desire and fight to overcome a disease.
We must pray His promises. Pray with boldness and confidence. Thank Him in advance for what you trust that He is going to accomplish in your life. Be confident in your prayers.
"Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him." 1 John 5:14-15
The world has taught us that if you get sick, you must suffer. And if you're lucky, you might get well. Now, you must renew your mind with healing Scriptures. Whatever your need is, find the promise you need in the Word of God, then ask according to His will God's will is His Word. When you find a promise for your need, and pray that promise, you will have the confidence that He will hear and He will answer your prayer. Amen! †
I was in shock! The words coming out of her mouth didn't seem like they could apply to me. No one in my family had ever had breast cancer....no one! She was giving me her findings, but without any details. That would take a few days. What kind is it? What is my stage? Is it aggressive? Has it spread? Can I be cured? So many questions, but for today....there are no answers. Multiple biopsies will be done before we will know more.
Although this uncovering was new to me and my family, God had already traveled this journey ahead of me. September 10th, 2018 was when I found out I had cancer, but that is not the day I got cancer. The bad "the cancer" had already happened. I have no idea how long it has been present in my body....slowly trying to kill me. I'm sure the devil wanted to keep his evil disease within me silent....working for my destruction.....until the doctor's considered it "too late" or "cannot be cured." But, that wasn't in God's plan for me. God whispered, "Not today! This cancer is NOT going to take my girl! I am in control....not the cancer!"
I live with His calm and assurance within me everyday. Do I feel good everyday? No way! Cancer can be aggressive or it can move slow, but its aim is to destroy the good in your body. Chemo also destroys the good while attempting to annihilate the cancer. It has so many side-effects. Many of them, I don't allow my mind to ponder as they can easily take you to a fruitless place filled with depression, doubt, unanswerable questions.....on and on....no good can come from it. However, there are a variety of side-effects that I do deal with after each treatment.
Some of them are:
Tired/Weak Feelings - Lasts about a week
Chemo Brain Fog - Slow to think or express - Lasts a day or two
Diarrhea - Lasts most of the time between treatments
Low Blood Count (Red and White) - I am eating greens, drinking superfood smoothies, and taking an Iron Supplement everyday for building the Red and I take a drug called Neulasta that is attached to my stomach after my chemo treatments. It dispenses through my stomach after 24 hours and then I can remove it. It is a bone marrow stimulant and helps increase my White blood cells. Its side-effect is bone pain and spasms, but I take Claritin - an anthistaine - that relieves the severe bone pain.
Nausea - I take four strong nausea medicines in my port prior to treatments. Then, I take a nausea medicine, 8 MG Zofran, each morning. The combination has worked wonderful for me. My Oncologist prescribed two other nausea medicines in case I need them, but thus far I haven't had to. I have felt slightly nauseous a few times, but never have come close to throwing up. An awesome blessing!
Taste - Very distorted! Most foods have a metal like taste. Some taste good while I am eating, but the after is not good. Seasonings are over-charged and spicy hurts. I have to be very careful to limit all seasonings.
Appetite - My appetite is not great, but I know that I have to eat. The doctor wants me to eat 6 to 8 small meals a day to keep my energy up and feed my body nutritionally.
Throat - For some weird reason, for a day or so after chemo, it is difficult for me to swallow. I literally can't swallow....as if I had a cork in it. I have to drink water and that opens it back up. During this time, I have to take a swallow of water after almost every bite of food to get it down.
Weight Gain - A side-effect of the nausea medicines (and chemo) that I am taking in my port can cause weight gain. And, it is happening to me. Every-time I go to the doctor and have weight check....I have gained 2 to 4 pounds. Not Cool!!!
Blood-Pressure Issue - In the first couple of weeks of learning I had bilateral breast cancer with all the biopsies, testing, consultations....my blood-pressure would sky rocket to dangerous numbers at every procedure and visit. I would have to stay an hour after I was finished just to try and get my blood-pressure down. I have now been prescribed a 10MG Hypertension Medication and a 25 MG Hypertension/Diuretic.
Satan uses evils like cancer and other diseases to tempt the believer. He wants a follower of Jesus to manifest doubt, weaken in their faith, and question all they know to be True. If satan can get a foothold in our life...get into our head...when our bodies are sick and frail, he starts to win and we start to lose our battle....not only our battle with disease, but our battle to be strong in the fight for the cause of Jesus the Christ.
God is molding me and shaping me all along this cancer journey. It is a path that He has allowed for me to travel because He knows my faith will remain strong and my testimony for Him will shine even brighter. Cancer is of satan; however, blessings can come from and can be in the middle of struggles and trials. God is using this cancer to enable me to touch more lives for Him. I now have a new passion and compassion for people who are living with cancer and who have overcome cancer like I never could have before. People tell me...."I know what you are going through because my "insert friend or family member" had cancer and I went through it with them. No! Loving a person with cancer, standing strong with them and for them can never be the same as the one who is living with something inside of them trying to kill them every day as they fight to live. But, the caregivers, prayer warriors, medical professionals, family members, and friends all play extremely important rolls in the journey of one who is battling for their life. It is so important to have positive, faith-filled believers feeding you with encouraging and uplifting messages daily. Our mind-set plays a huge role in our desire and fight to overcome a disease.
We must pray His promises. Pray with boldness and confidence. Thank Him in advance for what you trust that He is going to accomplish in your life. Be confident in your prayers.
"Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him." 1 John 5:14-15
The world has taught us that if you get sick, you must suffer. And if you're lucky, you might get well. Now, you must renew your mind with healing Scriptures. Whatever your need is, find the promise you need in the Word of God, then ask according to His will God's will is His Word. When you find a promise for your need, and pray that promise, you will have the confidence that He will hear and He will answer your prayer. Amen! †
#GodisLeading #BreastCancer #DoubleMastectomy #IBelieve
#BeatCancer #GodisHealing #PrayforaCure #PrayerWarriors
#BilateralBreastCancer #BreastReconstruction #HeProtectsMe
#WhereHeLeadsIWillFollow #GodisinControl #GodisaGoodGod #PraiseGod #ThankYouJesus
#MyGoalisCancerFree #MyCancerWarisOn #CrushingCancer
#MyGoalisCancerFree #MyCancerWarisOn #CrushingCancer
#CancerWillNotWin #IAmBeingHealed #MyGoalisCancerFree
I just love how you write--how you express yourself. I am surprised at how many side effects chemo has, but I am thrilled that you are not throwing up your food. I pray for you always. I love you.
ReplyDeleteThank you Carole and thank you for being a faithful sister in my journey. The side-effects I experience are not the deadly ones that can also come with chemo treatments. As I have said, I don't entertain those negatives because they will not be part of my journey. God has other plans for me. Love you!
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