Whirlwind Week - Wednesday

Today was an appointment I was excited for: a meeting with my oncologist to discuss when my treatment was going to start. But I’m getting a little ahead of myself. There were other things I want to share prior to summing up that appointment.

This morning I was informed that my sweet friend with Hodgkin’s DOES NOT have any cancer in her bone marrow. Praise the Lord! This is such great news, a complete answer to prayer and a nice ending to the fact that she had to go through an excruciating procedure to test for this. So so happy for this girl!

Later I got a call from my ob/gyn. Now the last time I got a call from her was when I found out I had cancer, so you can imagine a slight panic during my conversation. She let me know that the results had come back from my genetic testing a few weeks back. A positive result would mean that I should have a partial hysterectomy (ovaries & uterus removed) which would add another surgery to my list as well as kick me into menopause. Can I please be on hormones for the rest of my life? Not to mention the fact that I’d need to let my sister know and the worries of her child or any of mine could be subject to this horror in the future is something I would take personal responsibility for. I’ve been praying so hard and asking specific prayer from you for a negative result. Those prayers were answered :) Thank you Everyone for your thoughts…..God was happy to grant these prayers I’m certain of it!!!

Hearing all this good news for me & my friend put me in the most fabulous mood! Teague joined me at my appointment with the oncologist, but blood work needed to be done first. What?! You need blood? As I go through my usual routine of acting like a baby with needles (it totally makes the administrator work more carefully, trust me), I ask if they are going to use my port. “Oh! You have a port?” and he calls down for a different tech. Now I’m really getting nervous. Luckily I have a very personable tech and we joke around about how it’s going to be a breeze and I shouldn’t worry if he runs away from me sprinting for lots of gauze and other fun banter. Although I still will feel a small needle to numb the area, it really wasn’t a big deal and I feel better about the upcoming draws from here. I think.

We head off to the doctor’s office and she does a quick exam to look at my incisions. I was a little nervous that she ripped off the surgical tape coverings on each incision, as I was instructed to let them fall off on their own, and asked her (teasing) if she had the authority to just rip them off like that. She just smiles, tells me they are healing nicely and asks if I had heard the good news. My heart leaps at this as the other prayer that I’ve been praying everyday for, been asking specifically from others is that my lymph nodes are clean and free of cancer. Is this the good news she’s talking about? It is :) Once again, the good Lord has poured out His mercy on me during this journey and has rewarded all of the prayers from you and me and gave me this huge blessing. I am in such gratitude for these results and praise Him for good things coming in 3’s.

The appointment continues with us looking at my PET scan from yesterday. The only highlighted areas of activity were my brain, heart, stomach, bladder (all normal for a PET scan), and the small circle of my tumor confirming that no other areas in my body are carrying this disease. What a relief and it felt so good to see this for myself. Although I could still opt for a lumpectomy, I need the peace of mind by getting rid of these dangerous ‘things’. I can’t even stand the sight of them anymore. Bring on the silicone!

It was decided that I will start my Chemo treatments the following Thursday (Dec. 8th) and I will still have a total of 6 rounds, 3 weeks apart. She went over this exhaustive medication schedule that I still haven't wrapped my brain around and I left feeling on top of the world. Finally, I can start doing something to get better.

We left this office on Cloud 9 and agreed that Christmas had come early for the Rakoz Family. Thank you for these specific prayers. Anyone that doesn’t believe in the power of prayer can call me anytime!