SheriM
Lovin' The Homestead
Hi everyone. Thank you so much for the kind words, prayers and thoughts. The results are in and, yes, it's malignant, but it's not the end of the world. I do have to have a mastectomy, but I was pretty much expecting that. It may sound like a horrendous thing to be facing, and I don't mean to belittle anyone else's experience but I have already wrestled with the whole concept of losing a breast two years ago. As it turned out, I only had to have a lumpectomy then, but I did a whole lot of soul searching before I found out that a lumpectomy was the preferred route at the time.
There are two possible scenarios I'm facing now. If it is a recurrence of exactly the same cancer I had before, I have the mastectomy and that's the end of it. Five days in hospital and 3 to 4 weeks to recover and I'm good to go. If, however, it is a new cancer, that's a whole different ball game and I'll be facing chemotherapy again. So, strange as it may sound, I am now praying that this is a recurrence of the previous cancer.
I believe very strongly that when bad things happen to us, God is trying to teach us something and I believe this is His way of telling me to slow down and pay a little more attention to my body and its needs. At least, I HOPE that's His plan for me. The type of cancer I had (have?) is very prone to recurrence and to metastases (spreading to other parts of the body) and that is the only thing scaring me now. I don't want to have cancer, I don't want to go through any of this, but I'll gladly go through anything He wants me to, provided I come out the other end alive and able to appreciate the lessons experiences like this can offer.
The most immediate problem now is that they want to do the mastectomy on Thursday. The surgeon is going to be away for three weeks and wants to get this done before he goes so they're trying to squeeze me in. If they do, it means I have precisely one day to make all the arrangements necessary to look after a husband with dementia, a farm-load of chores, a bottle baby goat and all the usual household stuff. Whew, good thing I already arranged to have tomorrow off work, huh?
Oh, and the true irony of all of this? Assuming they can squeeze me in, the surgery will be on the same day that I was supposed to write a mid-term exam that I've been stressing about for a couple of weeks. Proof positive that God has a sense of humor...albeit a slightly warped one.
There are two possible scenarios I'm facing now. If it is a recurrence of exactly the same cancer I had before, I have the mastectomy and that's the end of it. Five days in hospital and 3 to 4 weeks to recover and I'm good to go. If, however, it is a new cancer, that's a whole different ball game and I'll be facing chemotherapy again. So, strange as it may sound, I am now praying that this is a recurrence of the previous cancer.
I believe very strongly that when bad things happen to us, God is trying to teach us something and I believe this is His way of telling me to slow down and pay a little more attention to my body and its needs. At least, I HOPE that's His plan for me. The type of cancer I had (have?) is very prone to recurrence and to metastases (spreading to other parts of the body) and that is the only thing scaring me now. I don't want to have cancer, I don't want to go through any of this, but I'll gladly go through anything He wants me to, provided I come out the other end alive and able to appreciate the lessons experiences like this can offer.
The most immediate problem now is that they want to do the mastectomy on Thursday. The surgeon is going to be away for three weeks and wants to get this done before he goes so they're trying to squeeze me in. If they do, it means I have precisely one day to make all the arrangements necessary to look after a husband with dementia, a farm-load of chores, a bottle baby goat and all the usual household stuff. Whew, good thing I already arranged to have tomorrow off work, huh?
Oh, and the true irony of all of this? Assuming they can squeeze me in, the surgery will be on the same day that I was supposed to write a mid-term exam that I've been stressing about for a couple of weeks. Proof positive that God has a sense of humor...albeit a slightly warped one.
I will continue to pray for you!!
I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers that this all works out well. 
