Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Answered Prayer!

Hi!  It's me!  And.....I am sooooooo happy!!!  My doctor's appointment yesterday went perfectly.  God is so good to me.  He is so good......period!  I clung to those verses I posted yesterday and knew that God would be there with me and He was!  I have been walking around with a smile on my face ever since we left the office and every time I think about how it all played out...I get tears in my eyes thinking about God's goodness.

Let me give you a little background concerning the Tamoxifen issue.  I know I've mentioned before that I have researched it and have friends that are on it.  I've been very concerned about taking it because of its side effects and have prayed (and sorry to say, I've worried) about it a lot.  I just didn't feel like it was worth 5 years of side effects when it will only reduce my recurrence by a very small percentage.  The percentage wasn't high enough for me and I felt like I could rely on God and his percentage would be WAY higher.  Anyway, each time I was with the doctor (my MIL, parents and Kevan have all been there with me) he would talk to me about Tamoxifen and how I would need to take it for 2 years, take 2 years off to try to get pregnant, once I have a child (or not) I would go back on it for the remaining 3 years.  EVERY TIME I was there he discussed this treatment in some way.

Well, after much prayer by so many of you, me, my parents, my MIL and Kevan....God answered those prayers so perfectly.  My oncologist walked into the room yesterday and the first thing he mentioned was that he didn't think I needed to do Tamoxifen.  It was amazing.  We didn't even bring it up yet!  I have tears in my eyes right now just thinking about it.  I am sooooo incredibly happy.  I was dreading the conversation with the doctor, trying the medication, the side effects, etc and God removed this burden altogether.  I didn't even have to have the conversation.  I had asked God in my prayers that it would be obvious to me what I needed to do.  The doctor's abrupt change in treatment totally confirmed for me what I have been feeling the Holy Spirit tell me from the beginning.  Truthfully, I wasn't sure if it was just me being stubborn and I was imagining God telling me not to take it.  So, it was great to walk out of the office yesterday FULLY knowing God's answer to our prayers.  Thank you so much for your prayers for me.

Also, God didn't just answer my prayer about the treatment....he blessed us even more.  The doctor told us that once my period returns (since I've been in menopause from the chemo it hasn't returned yet) we can start trying to get pregnant right away!  He doesn't think we need to wait a year and his nurse explained that sometimes when couples have problems getting pregnant (like we have) that chemo can sometimes knock your system into working and couples that couldn't get pregnant before get pregnant right away.  I don't know if this is what God has planned for us and I do not want to let myself think about it too much because I will be disappointed like I was for so many years before cancer.  But, it would be pretty awesome.  Really though....I'm open to whatever God has for me.  I would love nothing more than to be a mom and for Kevan to be a father, but I don't know if that is in God's plan.  I also wouldn't care if I had my own baby, used a surrogate or adopted.

"Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart."  Psalm 37:4

When I arrived in their office they took blood (ouch! but....they only had to stick me once!  YAY!).  My WBC counts were a little low (3.1), but RBC and platelets were good.  I also had a fever for some reason.  We also discussed some side effects I'm still having from chemo with the doctor and his nurse.  My arm is still burning sometimes from my last chemo (since it leaked out of the veins over time).  They said this would go away over time, but to keep my arm out of the sun.  My feet continue to burn on the bottom and especially hurt when I stand for a long period of time.  The nurse explained that this is neuropathy and it will go away as well, over time.  She suggested that I take Vitamin B6 as this has shown to help with the pain some.  We talked to him about my menopause side effects and he referred me to my "female" doctor.  So, I will be going to see her.  He said that it takes quite awhile for the symptoms from chemo to away and that by January 2013 I should be doing a lot better.  Also, I was told that I could NEVER take birth control pills/patch.  Nothing that has hormones (no estrogen/progesterone for menopause symptoms).  I wouldn't want to take birth control anyway.  (FYI...if I had taken Tamoxifen we could not get pregnant while on this so we would've had to use some sort of birth control and it could not be anything that contained hormones - so another reason I am so glad that is not the treatment). He did say that I could use estrogen cream (I won't go into detail here.  lol!)...as studies have shown that it does not get into the blood stream and is not systemic so it would be okay to use.  Also, in the end he said he didn't think I needed any scans (no PET Scan...yay!) and that I wouldn't need to come back until January.  PTL!  He said, I am CANCER FREE

It was a great day.  It is amazing to watch how God works in our lives.   If we just involve Him, pray to Him and ask Him...He will show up.  :o)  Oh, how I love Him so!

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." - John 15:9


My joy is full.

4 comments:

  1. Y E A H!!!!, and Bless the Lord.

    That about covers it, JOY

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  2. Thats so awesome. I am praising with you!

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  3. Thats so awesome. We are praising with you from Mexico!

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  4. I thrilled to read every word of this post. This is the one we have been waiting for. From the first I felt in my spirit that you would be okay and that God was going to bring you through it. He has been faithful and I cannot but expect He is going to do something with the experiences you have been posting. We love you guys and we are still here if you need us.

    Willie Dale

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