Merry Christmas!

My Christmas wreath is hung. I am so blessed this Christmas season.  It is such a wonderful time of year when the world celebrates the birth of Christ and the love that we share with the world around us.

I am not doing Christmas cards this year. Sorry, to all those who may be expecting a card.  Next year, I promise that I will be back on track and the cards will once again be in the mail.



A highlight of the  Christmas season for me is the music. I adore Christmas music! This You Tube video is wonderful .... enjoy. :)

I have been given and extra 7 days break from my chemo regime! Yahoo! On New Years Eve, I am booked to see my oncologist and to start the next round.

All is well!  God bless one and all! :)

God is Good!

Well I did it.  A change of routine can be very good for the soul so I packed my bucket of pills and headed to Portland with my parents to see my little sister.  I ended up staying with my wonderful cousin, Kathy, in her beautiful house because my sisters daughter had a bug.  (Germs are avoided by chemo patients.)  I enjoyed my cousin's delicious food, prayers,  love and kindness.  My Aunty hosted a delicious family dinner where much laughter and fun was had by all. Stories of the 'good old days' about my lumber-jack great grandfather are always fun to hear.

After a few days of being spoiled, we were able to revive the original plan and stay with my sister and her family.  Overall it was an amazing trip. It was refreshing to take the focus off of counting pills and gain some wonderful memories.  As I flew home, I looked out the window to the most stunning sunset over the Rocky Mountains and praised the Lord for His protection and the many blessings that have been given to everyone.

God is love.  Everything good comes from God. And I am very grateful for all the blessings that God has given me.

"O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving kindness endure forever!"
1 Chronicles 16:34

I came home to lots of hugs and my happy family.  All is well!

Today is November 24, 2013 ... one month until Christmas Eve! Praise the Lord! :)

Chemo Continues ... New target date April 9, 2014

I see the oncologist again on Wednesday, November 13, 2013.... and 21 more weeks from November 13, 2013 .... If all goes as planned, my new finish date will be April 9, 2014.  I will be DONE this current chemo regime!  Yahoo!! Just after my 48th birthday and a really good reason to celebrate!!

I was hoping that Christmas day was my last day of chemo pills, however, Dr. P has different ideas. One good thing is that he is very happy about my progress.  And so I have decided just to ride his happiness wave!  Although, I am quite sure that surfing is not an area of my personal expertise, I have always enjoyed the water, sunshine, and catching the wave! :)

How can I be happy about this?  In my mind, no matter the side effects, chemo kills cancer and so will extend my life.  To be here for my family is my deepest wish.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, it says ... "In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

 So give thanks is what I will do!!

Winter has arrived.  All is well! I am truly blessed! Praise the Lord!! God is in control!

May God bless one and all. :)

Courage ... Patience .... Perseverance

The beauty and warmth of summer is all around and I have been very much enjoying pulling weeds out of my garden.  Even if it is just one weed at a time. :) 

It has taken some thoughtful consideration but I have accepted that I have weeks of chemo before me.  This Wednesday will be the start of week 15 and the start of round 2 of this cycle.  I have come to the conclusion that God is teaching me patience. The good news is that I should be done in time for Christmas. 

"But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, ...

Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; 

and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: 

when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."

Isaiah 43: 1 and 2

I have nothing to fear.  God has called my name and I am his.  Even though I am going through chemo (or walking through fire), I shall not be burned.

Everywhere I go people are telling me how amazing I look.  All I can say is that my healthy glow is God's doing.  My hair is starting to return and I jokingly tell others that I am becoming a 'regular hippy'! :) 

I continue working with my very sweet homeopath who is helping to minimize the chemo side effects. I continue to do my best in trying to eat the best quality food that I can. I continue to take my doctors advice. And I continue to pray.  

All is well.  God is in control! :) 

Icing on the Cake ....

God is LOVE! and the director of my life! Love trumps anything evil.  He is in charge of my life journey.  I have accepted that he has plans for me... plans to give me a future and hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

I am so HAPPY to have the use of my left arm back.  I missed it while it was healing.  Not being able to type was hard on me.  The good news is that it is healing wonderfully and I already have a huge range of motion.  God is AMAZING! :)

Yesterday, my husband and I met with my medical oncologist to find out what my new treatment plan entails.

1.  PET scan from June is CLEAN!!!
2. Chemo continues for 18 weeks.
3.  Radiation therapy will follow the chemo
4.  Another PET scan will happen in probably 3 months

The pathology report from the second surgery on July 4 indicates that there is still 'minimal' cancer remaining in my left arm.  Apparently, chemo and then radiation are the best options for now. And his plan is to kill it.  I like that ... kill the cancer!!

I am not getting off easy.  18 weeks ... or 4.5 months ...  or 6 rounds .... no matter how I say it ... it is sounding like a long time. Right now, I am feeling pretty good so entering the realm of chemo side effects is not something that I really want to do.   Handing my trepidation over the God is the only way that I am going to get through this.  Someday I am sure that I will be able to look back on this next stage as 'icing' on the cancer experience.

This chemo is different that the chemo that I had in 2011.  The worst of the side effect are blisters on my feet because I love to go walking.  Blisters do not allow me to do that ... so I am following all the precautions and praying that I will be able to continue my walks. And I will have to remember to remind myself to eat and drink.  All will be good.   I am in God's hands.  He will get me through this next stage of my life's journey.

Anyone want to go for a walk? :)

God bless you all!

Stories of Strength

Thirty years ago my sister-in-laws mom was told that her cancer was so bad that there was no hope.  She switched doctors (and provinces) and found a doctor that would do surgery and treat her cancer.  Her desire to live came from her young family that she refused to leave.  Thirty years later she is still enjoying life!  Over that past couple of weeks, through Devine intervention (I am sure) I keep hearing stories of strength and victory.  Stories that I needed to hear so that I could put away the negative that I had been told and focus on the positive.  

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. 2 Chronicles 6:19

God is looking for ways to protect and help his children 24/7 every day.

My medical oncologist has assured me that whatever medical intervention I need, he will ensure that I have it.  Whew! He still believes that surgery will help me and that there are options for my treatment. Praise the Lord! :) 

Daily, I am praying that God restores my health as I look at a photo of myself on my wedding day. I am also visualizing God destroying the cancer in my body.  It is with God's help that I will walk away from cancer. Each morning when I wake, I pray and celebrate the fact that I have another day to spend with my boys and husband.  

I have been praying that God will put the right people in my path so that will help me on this journey.  Last week, I met with a Christian homeopath who was told 20 years ago this summer that she had breast cancer and had 1 year to live.  Twenty years later she continues to do God's work by helping many people get healthy.  With my medical oncologist permission, I now have her on my team and am following her advice as how to regain my health.  

Yes, I am human and there are moments when fear grips me.  Things like not seeing my own children grown up, graduate, go to university, get married and have children make me very sad.  In these moments, I pray and remind God that I have asked Him to restore my health.  (Actually, I think this is to remind me that God is on my side.) It works and the fear leaves.


The PET scan was done on Monday and I am waiting to hear the results. This Thursday, July 4, I am scheduled to have more surgery to remove the cancer that was left behind with the May 16 surgery.  My father-in-law told me today that he is praying that they do not find any cancer.  I have to admit that being told there was 'no cancer found' would make me very very happy.

I am keeping busy and even made the news.  With a cap on my bald head and much support from my friends and co-workers, I participated in the Canadian Cancer 'Relay for Life' which is an annual event to raise funds for cancer research.  I only was there for a couple hours.  The rest walked ALL night! One way or another cancer will be done!  

Please, continue to pray and send me your words of strength.  

May God bless us all in more ways than we can even imagine.  Amen! :) 

Really?!?

What a day!! Ugh!  I met with a radiation oncologist who told me that it was time I started learning how to "live with cancer".  I was following the instructions from my oncologist to meet with her to find out if I was a suitable candidate for radiation.   So all I was there to learn was that if she thought radiation was a good idea or not. She proceeded to dump on me what her prognosis of what my situation was ... it was basically time to through in the towel ... game over ... 6 months worst case scenario or in the best case scenario she had seen patients live 10 to 12 years. The cancer metastasized and had to be somewhere else. It was just a matter of time.  I really did not appreciate being told that I needed to see a psychologist to 'learn how to die'.

All I could think was '6 months' who is she kidding? She proceeded to tell me that it was time to stop my treatment plan ... So no radiation, no more surgery, perhaps there were drugs that I would continue taking ..... Her 'you need to learn to live with cancer' theory is unacceptable to me. I kept on thinking what does my own oncologist have to say about this! I was a messy puddle of tears by the time she was done with her graphic explanation of what my short future held.

Perhaps one good thing came out of this.  She is sending me for a PET scan. So my CT scan for tomorrow is cancelled and I am being booked for a PET scan in late June 2013.  I feel that the results will surprise the socks of this doctor!

Tonight I am feeling jittery and yet praying for a clean PET scan and praising God for life .... I trust that no matter what, God is in control.  I just wish that it was not such a roller coaster ride.

1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you."

Friday, June 14, 2013 Update:

Meeting with my medical oncologist on Monday, June 17, 2013.

PET scan is booked for June 24, 2013.
If the PET scan is clean, surgery will happen on July 4, 2013. (Independence Day from cancer for ME!)

I have decided that I just need to forget what the radiation oncologist said to me.  Her words just bring panic, fear and more negative thoughts which are just the opposite of what God wants for anyone.

I am still trusting in God and have total faith that He is in control.  When I walk away from this free of cancer, it will be an act of God! Praise the Lord! God is good!