Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Healing Nicely

We went to see the Surgeon again yesterday and he removed Mom's drain and said she was healing well.  She is still tender in spots but is really looking forward to sleeping without having to worry about drains and such.  We won't go back to see the surgeon for another month for a routine followup.

We found out that the Radiology Oncologist is out of town until December, but they were able to make an appointment with Dr. Smith, the Medical Oncologist for the 19th of November.  We will have quite a few things to discuss with him before we make any final decisions on treatment.

Mom is up to driving short distances again and made it to church on Sunday.  She is very encouraged by her sweet friends and the body of believers at her church.  We are hoping she will get a little stamina back soon so that we can begin our Christmas shopping.  Shannon and Greg and their son, Jason and daughter, Rachel and her husband Justin will be joining us for Christmas this year.  We are hoping to convince my brother, Steve and his family to come as well.  What a delightful family filled Christmas this will be!

Thank you all for your continued prayers and encouraging cards.

Standing on the promises of God, Dori

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

The Rest of the Story

Sing to the LORD, all the earth; Proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.  Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.  For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He also is to be feared above all gods.  For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the LORD made the heavens.  Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and joy are in His place.  Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Ascribe to the LORD glory and strength,  Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him; Worship the LORD in holy array.  Tremble before Him, all the earth; Indeed the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.  Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; And let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."  Let the sea roar, and all it contains; Let the field exult, and all that is in it.  Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD; for He is coming to judge the earth.  O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting. 
~1 Chronicles 16: 23-34

Mom and I went for her follow up with the surgeon yesterday afternoon.  He said her incisions were looking great and removed the dressing from them.  She still has some steri-strips under her arm, but those will fall off, gradually, over time.  He didn't remove her drain, which was a bummer, but is better than the alternative of having to go back weekly for some undetermined amount of time to have it manually drained because we took it out too early.  So it's there for at least another week.

Dr Schuss, said that he removed 9 more lymph nodes during her surgery.  Those were all underneath her arm.  She still has some nodes left in her chest near her collar bone, but the ones under her arm have all been removed.  The Sentinel Node that he removed at the time of her lumpectomy was positive for cancer, and he told us yesterday that there was 1 more node that showed cancer from the nodes he removed during this last surgery.  It was a VERY SMALL amount of cancer-less than 1/10 of a mm-though, and so we are happy and Praising God that it is only a total of 2 nodes out of 10 and that the 2nd node has so little cancer in it.

We were hoping to make an appointment to see the Oncologist at this appointment, but the surgeon said we wouldn't make that until he removes the drain.  Mom says she thinks the surgeon has a crush on her and that's why he keeps coming up with reasons to see us on a weekly basis! :)  Kidding, but seriously, he has been a VERY kind and patient doctor and he really does have very pretty blue eyes!

As far as finding more cancer in the nodes, that doesn't really change her treatments.  They are already planning on the Chemo and Radiation.  Mom does have some apprehension about both of these treatments so please pray with us that once we get to the Oncologist, we will get lots of answers and Mom will feel good about whatever she decides regarding treatment.

We go back, AGAIN, to see her surgeon next Monday to HOPEFULLY get her drain removed and make the appointment with the Oncologist.  It would be nice to know what our Thanksgiving and Christmas season will look like so that we can make any adjustments or changes if needed.

Unrelated to the surgery or the cancer, Mom has been having a LOT of really bad back pain (in her shoulder blades) the pain meds she has now barely take the edge off and the Dr gave her a new one to try.  She has also been struggling with feeling nauseous when she eats.  I think once she has the drain removed and she can sleep in more comfortable positions, her back will start to feel better, but I'm not sure what is causing the icky stomach.  We are praying that whatever it is will pass quickly and that these pain meds will give her some relief from the back pain.

We love you all!  Thank you (again and again) for your continued prayers.  It really is humbling to see the love that flows from our friends and family.

Standing on the promises of God,
Dori