Monday, October 11, 2010

The Answers to Many Questions

The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You support my lot.  The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed my heritage is beautiful to me.  I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; Indeed, my mind instructs me in the night.  I have set the Lord continually before me; Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely.  For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.  You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.  ~Psalm 16:5-11

We met with the surgeon again today, and he had some encouraging news for us.  Originally he was concerned about the change in the size of my mom's tumor from the mamogram to our first visit with him and also, about that red patch that was over the tumor.  He thought we were dealing with a much more aggressive type of cancer than what her reports revealed.  He was having us wait in hopes that the red spot would disappear and that, what he thought could be swelling around the tumor, would go down.  I mentioned in my last post that the red spot was fading and I am happy to say that it is almost completely gone.  The swelling does not seem to have gone down any, but the Dr. thinks that it is, indeed, just swelling.

The Tumor Board all recommended that she not undergo any chemo before the surgery becasue they too, think that the actual size of the tumor is only 2-3 cm.  Also, they believe that bcause it is hormone receptive and a low grade tumor that surgery will give us excellent results.

She is scheduled for surgery on the 14th, the day before her 75th birthday.  We won't have an exact time for the surgery until tomorrow some time, but regardless, she will need to be at the hospital at 8:30 a.m..

They will be doing a Sentinel Node Boipsy at the same time they do her lumpectomy, to look for cancer in her lymph nodes.  We will have some results from that the same day, but the diffinitive results will not be back for 4-5 days.  He expects the surgery to last about 1 1/2 hours.  I asked him what he thought the chances were that once he started the surgery that he would decide she needed a full mastectomy and he said he had no intention of doing a mastectomy at this time.  He anticipates this being an outpatient procedure, so she should be back home Thursday evening.

He is recommending a course of radiation after the surgery to make sure that all the cancer cells are destroyed and to give her a better chance of the cancer not returning.  The radiation won't start for 4-5 weeks after her surgery and will last for about 6 weeks.  Her Oncologist will be Dr. Charles Smith, here in Twin.

She has a Pre-Op appointment tomorrow at 9:30 and they will do blood work, an EKG and a chest x-ray.

After her surgery, she won't have any major restrictions, although she will find it painful to lift her arm above her head for a while.  She will return for a  follow up visit to Dr. Schuss (the surgeon) in a week and then again in a month.

God has been faithful, as He promises.  Mom says she is not nervous and neither am I.  I know the Lord holds not only her, but this family in His hands.  My Aunt and Uncle are here and staying with my mom and giving her comfort and encouragement in the Lord.  They will be coming to stay with me on Wednesday when my sister arrives from Washington.  She will be staying with my mom until the 20th.  I was concerned about having to help my mom all by myself and still take care of my family, but the Lord provided for my needs even before I could ask Him.  How silly of me to have worried over such a small thing--I know the Lord will be faithful to take care of His own.

Thank you all, so much for lifting my family up in your prayers.  I do have another request, while you are praying for my mom's surgery on Thursday, please pray for a family that is very dear to me.  Their 12 year old daughter will be going into surgery on Friday to repair some holes in her heart.  I can only begin to imagine what they are feeling at this time.  I pray for peace and comfort for the entire family and that their sweet girl will not be afraid.  I pray for the Dr that will be working on her, that God will use his hands to heal this little one. 

Standing on the promises of God, Dori

3 comments:

  1. Wow! This all sounds very encouraging. Thank you, Dori, for taking the time to update this blog so frequently. I am amazed at your ability to think of all of us while being at your mom's side and caring for your husband and kids. You are quite a gal and we are all so, so lucky to have you in our lives. Big hugs and kisses for Anita. Love you all... Heather

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  2. Got your back, Sweet Friend...
    It's great to know that only He holds tomorrow and that we are resting in the palm of His mighty hands!
    Love to all... :)

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  3. I will be praying for you all tomorrow. Keep us posted when you can.

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