Reason for the Season

We are so close to Christmas and I can't express my overwhelming sense of God's love and grace in words this year.  

A year ago, I was so down...doubting so much.  I don't doubt anymore.   God has a plan for all of us.  His plan was to not take me yet.  I promised Him I would praise Him and not take credit for where I am today.  And I'm not taking credit.  He has been my rock and has not forsaken me.   And I know, whatever the future holds, cancer or no cancer, He is with me.  

Many of you don't know, I may be in remission, but I still have the mutation.  It can reoccur if the cancer builds a resistance to Tarceva.  If that happens, we keep fighting.  We never know when our time will come.  Are you ready?

It may not be the cancer that takes me.  We don't know.  I do know that I'm thankful that I got cancer.  I know....CRAZY!   But, so much good has come out of something so bad.  

Karley found God and was baptized.  I've stopped working my life away and started working on my life.  I notice and appreciate every moment.  My relationship with God has gotten stronger and I am choosing the path I feel He wants me to take.  I've met some incredible people at church and am happy to call them my family.  My relationships with friends and family are also stronger.  

I've had the opportunity that few have.   The opportunity for a second chance to make my life right.  That is what I'm doing.  Living by faith, not by sight.  

That's all for now.  I just wanted to share my joy and remind you, we all have things to be thankful for.   Even if we don't have everything, we do have love.  And God's love is so powerful, please don't forget everything He has given us this Christmas.   It's not about Santa or material gifts.  It's about Him.  He gave His only son so that we may have eternal life.  That is the ultimate gift and sacrifice.  

Merry Christmas to all!  Be safe!

Matthew 19:26

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Post Results

So it's been over 24 hours since my good news and I wanted to update as promised.  

I have a lung infection and will be on steroids for 6 weeks with a follow up in January.  It's been a little painful and making me pretty sleepy.  But, we are working on that.

I know I'm not out of the woods.   I still have the EGFR mutation and always will.  Yet, His amazing grace has given me the best Christmas present I could ask for.   I now have more years.  More years to fight, to live, to watch Karley grow up, and to praise Him for the miracle of life He has given me.   It is truly a miracle.  Last year I was told I had 12-18 months to live.  This Christmas will be like any other, and I'm so thankful for this gift. 

Now, I have hope.  I have more hope than I've had my entire life, about anything.  It's amazing the way you look at things when you know you are living on time that you know has been given by the grace of God.   I'm not sure we are born knowing that.  Without cancer, I'm not sure I would have realized that.   

I'm not trying to shove religion down any person's throat by any means.  I just know that my God has given me a few more years to live and fight.  We are fighting for a Cure!

I can't describe how much love I've felt from everyone.  It's been incredible.  I hope that you know all of your words of encouragement and inspiration and prayers have kept me as positive as I am.  They've meant so much and I still need them.  We still need them.  So please, don't give up on us or stop praying for us.  It can come back, we will always need your prayers until we find a cure.

Until then, I will keep you all updated on our fight and my progress.  

I hope you all have a very blessed and Merry Christmas.  Make sure you tell your loved ones how much you care for and love them.  Every day is a blessing.  You never know when that can change.  

God bless and love you all!  Please keep your faith...  

Until my next blog, I leave you with a verse Mr. Jimmy Livingston reminded me of:

Matthew 15:28

Then Jesus answered, "Woman, you have great faith!  Your request is granted."  And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Results

Today was the big day.  I wanted to wait and blog when I got home, but the anticipation of telling you all how miraculous God is just can't wait.  

First, I have a bunch of inflammation that is causing my pain symptoms.  I am at a pulmonary doctor to see if it's pneumonia or inflammation from radiation.  I'll update later.  

The good news - they are unable to see any active cancer on my petscan.  The main tumor is not visible anymore.  Of course we are not 100% sure because there can be small cancer cells unseen by the imaging, but my oncologist is ecstatic, as are we.  Is this remission?  We think so!

I will still continue tarceva forever and pray for a cure for the mutation.  This is by far the best Christmas present I could ever receive.  

We will follow up with another petscan in 3 months to make sure there is still no active cancer.  

God is truly amazing.  I know that it can return, and I will live with that forever.  But, I've learned to take nothing for granted!  I can't say how much your support and prayers have meant to me.  

I will blog more later.  I just couldn't contain this excitement. 

Matthew 19:26

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible"

AMEN!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Ziggys, Falcons Game and Final MRI....for now

As promised, it's been pretty eventful since last Tuesday.  Tuesday night Ziggy's held a fundraiser for us.  Special thanks to Angel and Gary Hobby, Keenan and Monica Carter and Ziggys, Scott and Lee Whittington, St. Simons Community Church and Joey and Tavia Harrison and the Brick for helping make the fundraiser such a success.  Also, thank you to all of you who made it out to support us.  It means so much, we are so blessed to live in such a thoughtful community!  Thank you for your donations, support, and most importantly your prayers!

We arrived Wed. evening in Atlanta.  On Thursday we met with Chris Draft to go the Falcons v. Saints game.  Although the Falcons lost, we had an amazing time.  This was Karley's first pro football game.  I can't put into words how grateful we are to Chris Draft and Team Draft, Amanda Bartlett and Piedmont Atlanta, and Jennifer Leslie and Luke with 11 Alive news for their help in making this special memory for us.

We started off at the Hard Rock Cafe, Karley's first visit there too.  Here are a few pictures from the evening:

Team Draft does great work promoting lung cancer awareness by working to change the face of lung cancer and encouraging people to donate to local hospitals and research cancer centers.  He takes survivors to stadiums in honor of lung cancer.  He's a great person, and Karley absolutely loves him, and her new friend, Tony G.

I've been in a decent amount of pain from the radiation still.  Luckily, I have some pain medication for that.  Today we went for my FINAL MRI, unless my oncologist orders one.  It will be a year on Wed. since my craniotomy and diagnosis.   My MRI was still clean!  We are so blessed for this progress!

We were originally told my prognosis would be 12 - 18 months.  That 12 months is up on Wednesday and I think I've come a long way....thanks to our awesome God and some great doctors!

Thank you ALL for your support, love, and most importantly prayers!  You have no idea how much they mean and how grateful I am for them.  Your messages and words inspire me and I am so blessed to have such amazing friends and family!  I love you all and God bless you all!

Happy Thanksgiving!   And don't let Thanksgiving be the only time your thankful.  Be thankful every day for the what you have, you never know when it could change.


1 Thessalonians 5:18
"give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Jesus Christ"

Small Scare, Big Hearts, and More

It's been a while since my last update.  A lot has been going on, so here we go.

It's Lung Cancer Awareness Month, as well as pancreatic and stomach cancer awareness months.  Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer in the United States among both men and women, yet doesn't get near the publicity, funding, support, or media that breast cancer awareness month gets.  In fact, No-Shave November and Movember have taken this month as well for men's health awareness.

Well men, here's some awareness, lung cancer will kill more of you then any other cancer.

As a lung cancer fighter, I'm appalled at the lack of support by the American Cancer Society compared to breast cancer, and how they don't help fight the stigma.  Smoking causes a lot of cancer besides just lung.  I want to fight for them to move the Great American Smoke Out to January so we can focus on the cancer killer, not the stigma.  January makes sense since it can be a New Year's Resolution.

Now that I'm finished ranting, I went to the Baptist ER last Wednesday due to shortness of breath and back/shoulder pain.  My oncologist was concerned about a pulmonary embolism.  Thankfully, it is just swelling from the radiation.  I have some pain medicine right now that is helping greatly.

I received a letter from my insurance company denying that same radiation, telling me it wasn't "medically necessary".  Well, I'm shocked and very disappointed in Blue Cross Blue Shield.  I guess they expected me to just die?  I cannot believe that my oncologist felt it was medically necessary but someone, who has never seen me, can make this decision.  They, furthermore, have not kept up with the progression of treatment in lung cancer, not knowing this is ground breaking treatment and is working in some patients.  I don't plan on backing down to them.  So, now worries, I have some great friends working with me on this.  I'll let you know how it turns out.

Two days later I took Karley to the fair with her friend Bella and my friend Sonja.  Sonja doesn't do things like the fair, but I didn't think I could take them alone, and I don't break promises.  Thanks girl!  I'll add some pictures at the end of the blog.  I enjoyed every minute seeing my sweet girl so happy!

And, I'm so proud of her!  She was baptized at St. Simons Community Church this past Sunday.  I cried a little.  I'm so happy that I was able to witness that amazing moment in her life.  Her faith is so strong, she inspires me.

Speaking of my church, which is AMAZING, my ladies of my bible study class made me cry tears of joy.  They donated so much money to help me with medical bills.  I cannot express in words how much this meant to me.  I love each and every one of you for all that you've done!  My church gives me so much faith in our Lord and in humanity.  Truly great and Godly people are out there. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!

Finally, Ziggy's is hosting a kid's night fundraiser for us on November 19th from 5-7.  Karley is pumped!  Thank you Angel Hobby and Ziggy's for making this happen!  You guys are great!

And thanks to Piedmont Hospital, Team Draft, and 11 Alive Atlanta, Karley will be at her first football game, Falcons vs. Saints next Thursday.  I'll update more next week!

I am so blessed to have loving and amazing people that care so much about my family and me.  It means so much and your love gives me such a boost of faith in God.

I've joined a few lung cancer groups, including Lung Cancer Survivors Foundation, and decided that I cannot possibly list all of the people that need prayers anymore.  There are so many.  Know that you are all in my prayers!  I'm thankful for these groups of people that are fighting a good fight every day.  No one fights alone!

Thank you for all of your support, love, and most of all prayers!  I'm one happy chick today because I'm so blessed!

1 Corinthians 13:13 
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.  But the greatest of these is love."

Fall Festival, Halloween, Birthday, and how we are now

We had a great time at the fall festival this year at Karley's school.  The weather was perfect!  Here are a few pictures of Karley, her dad, and me all together.  Even though John and I aren't a couple, we try to do as much of Karley's activities together as possible.  Makes her super happy and he's a great dad!

Then, a few days later, it was Halloween/my birthday!  I had lunch with Karley at school.  She made me a cute hat to wear and gave me my birthday present.  Later that evening we went trick-or-treating.  She was a ninja.  Shocker!

All in all it was the best birthday and Halloween I could ask for.  I'm so thankful for all that I have, and each day I continue to have with my family and friends.

Lately I've had some back pain, in the area where the remaining tumor is located.  I'm hoping it's just a side effect of radiation.  It's effected my breathing a little for the past two days.  I just can't seem to get that deep breath sometimes.  It's very aggravating.  I'll call the doc about it Monday to make sure it's normal.

My friend, Angel Hobby, is working on a fundraiser down here in St. Simons for me so I'll post details as they arise.  She's been awesome, along with my church and ladies from bible study!

Karley is being baptized November 10th.  We are super excited so expect another post around then.

Otherwise, my next MRI is November 25th.  I'm glad we will be spending the whole week in Atlanta with our family and friends there.  It will mark the one year anniversary of my diagnosis.  I can't believe it's almost been a year now.

Please continue to remember the following additional people in your prayers:   Reggie Kimbell, Marjorie Polk,Tim Gravitt, Shelley Miller, Sheila Hodges, Seanna Reannon New, Peggy Fogerty, Gretchen Mitchell Anderson, Dylan Rosier, Tori Tomalia, and James Robert Smith.  They still all have their own battles.

Thank you for your continuous prayers for my family, friends, and me.

The support of my church, friends, and family has been truly amazing.  I can't imagine getting this far without you all, but most importantly, without our Lord.  I praise Him for the strength He gives me every day.  He brought me to it, I know He can see me through it.  I know I write this every time, but I genuinely mean it.

Hope everyone had a fabulous Halloween and has a great November (Lung Cancer Awareness Month!).

2 Corinthians 5:7
"We live by faith, not by sight."

Getting back into the routine...slowly

It's so nice be home.  I don't think Karley let go of me all night when I arrived Oct. 8th. It's been a while since my last post so will catch you all up.

Church was AMAZING today.  I was fighting tears the whole time!

I've had a little pain in the same areas as before as well as a huge red burn mark on my back from the radiation.  The treatment I received is relatively new in lung cancer but clinical results have been promising.  I can still feel the pain in my back where the main tumor resides.  It has to be near a nerve because it's causing issues with my neck too.  The docs did warn me it may get worse before it gets better and it would take a while to see full results *hence 12/13/13.

Since the main tumor progressed, I've begun researching 2nd line treatments for when Tarceva becomes resistant.  Inspire.com and smartpatients.com are very helpful sites, not only for lung cancer, but to speak with all types of people with different ailments.  I'm just working on a Plan B.  Always proactive.

I don't get too carried away though.  My faith keeps me grounded and only do I research those things when I'm tired.  They make me sleepy.

Cancer is something no one wants, especially the beast of all cancers.  No one wants to hear terminal.

Well, if it weren't for cancer, I may  not have changed my life the way I did.  I went from a workaholic, mean, unforgiving, bitch....to someone that loves and enjoys life.  Cancer taught me what matters, and what doesn't.  It opened my eyes to everything God has blessed us with, and although it sucks...it rocks for doing that to me.   My life would have turned out a lot worse.  I woke up, it took cancer to do it.  Maybe I needed cancer.  I can imagine a million ways that God could have turned me around that would have been worse. I'm thankful He's given me this chance to change and make things right.

I don't want it anymore.  But I do want to shout from the rooftops how He cured me.  Because if He can create the heavens and the earth and everything here.....He can cure my cancer.

Please sign the petition on my facebook page in an effort to change American Cancer Society's view and event practices towards Lung Cancer Awareness.  They aren't helping with our stigma in the least.

Thank you for praying for my friend Shelley Miller, she's doing much better.

Reggie still needs our prayers, he's not a big talker about it, but I know him and know he needs them.

Please continue to remember the following additional people in your prayers:   Reggie Kimbell, Marjorie Polk,Tim Gravitt, Shelley Miller, Sheila Hodges, Seanna Reannon New, Peggy Fogerty, Gretchen Mitchell Anderson, Dylan Rosier, Tori Tomalia, and James Robert Smith.  They still all have their own battles.

Reggie still has an active fundraiser to help pay his medical bills, especially now with his additional medical expenses.  It's at Reggie's Fundraiser.  Reggie needs our help now even more now!

Thank you for your continuous prayers for me and my family. The support of my church, friends, and family has been truly amazing.  I can't imagine getting this far without you all, but most importantly, without our Lord.  I praise Him for the strength He gives me every day.

In bible study, we were asked  a question along the line of, "How can we use faith in our daily life?"  My response was, "How can we not?  I would be a basket case by now!"  God bless you all!

1 Peter 5:6 -7
"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you"