Spoiler Alert: I Have Breast Cancer

I never thought this would be my view one day. No one ever really considers it when they are healthy, eat well, exercise, and avoid most things that do damage to the beautiful temple God created in the human body. However, this powerful perspective became my reality today, as I met with a medical oncologist, a surgical oncologist, and a radiology oncologist for a recent diagnosis of breast cancer.

I realize this is probably a shock to many of you, as it was to our family; however, there are so many God winks in this story that I do not feel I can keep it to myself. God has a way of turning the most seemingly awful things into a beautiful blessing, and I have already witnessed His abundant love in the past month of medical screenings, testing, and waiting. I am not clear on what the future holds, but this year, I had already decided to let go and let God, and I am experiencing the goodness, grace, and peace that comes from truly honoring that commitment.

I plan to write about this journey as it unfolds and will create some backstory entries to support the narrative God is developing in this place of absolute redemption and healing. I will share in my own way, at my own pace, but I know I cannot keep all the ways Jesus is showing His miraculous love and healing to myself. There is beauty in God’s story for my life as He reveals it one page at a time. I am grateful for the opportunity to draw closer to Him, to share His love with others, and proclaim this story of healing, which will manifest in God’s timing, not mine.

Comments

Buella (cancer) Has Spread

Buella was entirely removed along with five lymph nodes and all the breast tissue they could remove on both sides. The tissues and tumor were sent for pathological testing. The report came back and was not what we hoped for. Buella has spread to the lymphovascular system, lymph nodes, and tissue around the nodes. Buella was also less than 1 mm away from the chest wall, so cancer cells are likely in the chest wall too. The tumor grade was thought to be a Grade 1 before surgery (not aggressive), and has now been determined to be a Grade 3 (most aggressive and has the highest recurrence rate). The news was hard to receive as I was praying for it to be all contained in the single tumor, and that would mean just surgeries and careful watching for a bit. However, this is not the story of my journey. I will need radiation, and we are waiting for the Oncotype test to come back to determine the need and type of chemotherapy. This will take 4 weeks, and we cannot start any treatment u...

Well, Poo: Update on Cancer Treatment

The radiation oncologist entered our room in a medical halo, looking very uncomfortable and much like an image of Frankenstein. He was healing after suffering an injury to his neck in a swimming pool two weeks ago. "How are you doing?" he asked with genuine care and concern. "Well, obviously, better than you at this point," I replied as I internally scolded myself for complaining about the rough nights sleeping in a recliner the past 6 weeks. He smiled and said, "Yeah, maybe so." Then we got down to business. He reminded me that before surgery, we had discussed the possibility of doing radiation. He had laid out some clear signs that it would be necessary. Buella (the cancer) had spread to the nodes (CHECK) Tumor is greater than 2 cm (CHECK) There are cancer cells in the Lymphovascular system (CHECK) There are unclean or close margins from tumor edges to chest wall (<1 mm CHECK) You are premenopausal (CHECK) Each component increases the odds of lo...

Eviction Notice: Buella (Cancer), You Have Been Served!

Dear Buella, This is your notice that you are being permanently evicted from the premises, also known as my body, effective July 1. You have exceeded the number of recommended days to be in residence by more than 30 days; therefore, you will forcibly be removed so you can no longer wreak havoc upon the landscape of our lives. - Management / Allie Dear Family and Friends, On July 1st, I will have a double mastectomy and begin reconstructive surgery. Buella, the name I gave my tumor, has been served her eviction notice after 70+ days since detection, and we are grateful to have a date scheduled. However, I do keep trying to convince Gavin that traveling to the Amalfi Coast for pasta and coffee would do wonders for healing cancer instead. If you have a study that supports my hypothesis, please share it with me, as I have read at least 50 research articles and a few books about cancer in the past month and have yet to find a correlation or causation study about the benefits of authent...

Inside the Mind of an Educator

Search This Blog