Its November, the month to remember all that we are thankful for.
And boy, do I have something to be thankful for today.
A good lab report.
You see, for the last about 4 weeks now, I have had this rash on my breast. It looked like a bacterial infection that I have seen Dan have years ago. I put anti fungal cream on it, I put essential oils on it. Nothing was working It wasn't going away. It wasn't changing at all, in fact.
So last week, I was lying bed with Dan, when I just googled "rash on breast." Try it. Breast cancer. Breast cancer. Inflammatory breast cancer. So I clicked on the sites, my heart starting to pound.
One website said that if it appeared to look like the skin of an orange, with the same texture, it was likely inflammatory breast cancer, with a low survival rate.
I hit Dan's chest, grabbing his attention quickly, and told him to look at the spot. I asked him if he would consider it looking like an orange peel. He looked for a second, gave it some thought and said a slow, "Yes." I agreed.
My heart then sunk. And said, "Well, guess what that could mean? Cancer again."
I slammed the computer shut, turned the bedroom light off and went to the couch, where I knew I wouldn't sleep. But I couldn't sit still... I paced.
I went to the kitchen sink and stood over it, thinking I was going to throw up. I stood and prayed. After a few minutes I went back to the couch and opened the computer.
I also knew my friend, Rachel would still be awake on Facebook...
So I told her what I was thinking. She immediately asked me if I wanted her to speak to her dad who was a doctor, a breast care doctor and surgeon. Umm, YES!
She talked to him- He lives in Washington- and he said I needed to get into the doctor immediately, and demand that a biopsy was done, TOMORROW.
Next morning came and called the breast care doctor a minute after 8 am. And after hearing about my rash and speaking to a nurse, they scheduled my appointment for 1:30 pm that day.
I went to the appointment with both my sons in tow. And my doctor did an ultrasound and a biopsy. He said he wasn't overly worried, but truly didnt know what it was. Lab results would come back in two days.
Thankfully I have four children who provide a great distraction. And the next two days weren't as terrible as they could have been.
Yesterday, Halloween day, my nurse called and said that although the lab results weren't back yet, she specifically called the lab and asked if there was any malignancy. To that the lab technician said, "NO!"
Alleluia, Jesus.
{I had started re-writing my will, adding my two youngest kiddos in. }
So now, I can stop worrying (a little bit) about my future... Thank goodness!
See what I am talking about? I have a lot to be thankful for. As a person who has had a terminal illness, my perspective has changed. And although I try to put my faith in God, and not fear, it is still very scary to think that I could be gone before my littles even head off to school, or not see my kids' graduations.
Enough on that!
Its November! No more breast cancer awareness hoopla. Just pilgrims, Native americans, and turkeys.
Speaking about that, before our Halloween candy was sorted and put away, Alayna and I started on our Thanksgiving crafting! I bet you can't guess which one my pink-obsessed daughter made.
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